Spanish President Pedro Sanchez To Visit India Soon: Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares

New Delhi: Spain's President Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon is set to embark on a visit to India soon, the country's foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Wednesday. He also expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to visit Spain. Delivering his opening remarks during his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the national capital today, Albares said that Spain is keen to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative and work bilaterally through the European Union. He also said, "President Sanchez will be here in India very soon for an official visit, and I hope that Prime Minister Modi will be able to visit Spain as well. We are going to continue working bilaterally through the European Union as well in the multilateral sphere, and we will be very happy to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative and have brought the letter to you to mark that moment.

"And we will also express our wish of upgrading our relationship to a strategic association that is the highest level of relationship that we have with friends, as is the case in India," he said. Albares also thanked Jaishankar for expressing solidarity with the victims of the recent train accident in Barcelona that killed over 40 people.

"And thank you very much for your message of solidarity to the Spanish people in this very painful moment," he said. Albares said that the logo for the dual year of culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence represents India and Spain's shared vision. "It has been a pleasure for me to present jointly with you our common logo for the dual year. It fully represents our shared vision for this year and for the future of our relationship that has been increasing in the last few years," he said.

"I know that both countries are working on a packed programme of events that are going to mark this year, and I really look forward to having it presented in Spain as well. And I'm also very glad that it involved the participation of the public through the crowdsourcing method," he added. Albares said that as the world order is going through a churn, it is essential that Spain develops relations with a reliable country like India.

"In these very complicated times in the world, it's very important for Spain to foster our relationship with such a reliable country like India, a country that believes in international law, that upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter, and that believes in multilateralism," he said. He said that a positive sign would be the signing of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement.

"A very good sign would be the final agreement of the FTA with the European Union that we very much would love to see being put forward finally. It's the right time for that. Spain and India are the two fastest-growing economies in the world, and our enterprises are benefiting from that. We will discuss later on the possibility of continuing to increase our trade relations, the presence of Spanish companies in India, and the presence of Indian companies in Spain," he said.

Albares stated Airbus and Tata's cooperation as the real example of the cooperation both nations aim to foster. "I think that the partnership between Airbus and Tata is the real example of what we have to foster and what we have to be achieving. I hope that the pace of high-level visits that we have been having in recent years. And once again, I want to thank you for your presence as a special invitee at last year's Ambassador's Conference in Spain, which will continue," he said.

He then said he looked forward to further engagements during his visit. "So looking forward to this working session. Once again, thank you very much for the solidarity with the Spanish people in this very difficult moment for my people. Looking forward to the working session," he said. Albares arrived earlier in the day on Wednesday. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said that Albares will hold talks with his Indian counterpart, Jaishankar, on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday stated the European Union is close to finalising a Free Trade Agreement with India and noted that some describe it as "the mother of all deals". Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, she stressed Europe's intent to expand trade and international cooperation.

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