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India's Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, Jayant N Khobragade, underscored the steady growth of bilateral ties between India and Spain, highlighting increased high-level exchanges, expanding trade, and a milestone anniversary year for diplomatic relations.
Speaking with the media while attending an exhibition called 'Journey with the Divine Flow', Khobragade said, "So, India and Spain's relationship is growing very well. I see, look like the families, when there is like, coming and going, when we visit other families, the other family visits us, then the relationship is maintained. That's how we maintain the relationship." He emphasised the importance of leadership-level engagement in strengthening ties, also mentioning the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 to Spain. He said, "Similarly, like countries, it's very important that the leaderships, they travel to each other's countries. So we had the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. And then, our relationship has really started growing very well." Highlighting the economic cooperation in terms of trade and investment, he noted, "So our trade and investment relationship is growing very well. Our trade has reached almost USD 10 billion, and it is in our favour. Around USD 7 billion is our export, USD 3 billion is our import." He also underlined the significance of the current year in bilateral ties as the year marks 70 years of diplomatic ties between India and Spain. "And most importantly, this year is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between India and Spain. So we are celebrating it as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism, and Artificial Intelligence," he said. Later speaking about his exhibition, Khobragade explained the inspiration behind it, "The exhibition is called 'Journey with the Divine Flow'. So when I wanted to give this title, 'Journey with the Divine Flow', the thought was that, wherever there is beauty, I thought that there's an element of divinity. So, where there is beauty, there's an element of divinity. Therefore, I gave this title to my exhibition." Describing the structure of the exhibition, he added, "This exhibition, when it was curated, basically, the curator thought that I had three distinct themes. One is Nature, another is Music and Dance, and the third one is the Civilizational Connect. So that's how the exhibition is arranged." According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India and Spain have maintained cordial bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1956, with high-level engagements continuing to strengthen the partnership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit to Spain in May 2017 marked a significant milestone, while subsequent interactions between the leaders of both countries on the sidelines of G20 Summits and through telephonic conversations have reinforced mutual confidence in expanding ties. Regular exchanges at the ministerial level, including meetings between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, alongside multiple high-level visits in recent years, underscore the growing depth of diplomatic engagement. The MEA further noted that economic relations form a key pillar of the partnership, with Spain emerging as India's sixth-largest trading partner in Europe and bilateral trade reaching USD 9.9 billion in 2023. As per the MEA, India's exports to Spain include mineral fuels, chemicals, textiles, and machinery, while imports comprise mechanical appliances, chemicals, and plastics. The ministry highlighted increasing investment flows, with Spain ranking as the 16th largest investor in India. (ANI)
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