New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar along with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on Wednesday held discussions on the Ukraine conflict and other regional and global issues. Both the leaders agreed to work closely in multilateral forums. The Spanish Foreign minister arrived in New Delhi today morning. José Manuel Albares Bueno, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Spain, is on an official visit to India on 15 June.
His visit comes at a time there has been a shift in the geopolitical scenario with the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Recently, the cooperation between India and Europe has increased significantly. The two global powers are looking at ways to deepen links. India and Spain enjoy close and friendly relations. The bilateral ties got a fresh impetus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Spain in 2017.
Taking to Twitter, External Affairs minister Jaishankar said, "Warm and productive discussions with Foreign Minister @jmalbares of Spain. Discussed our growing engagements in political, defense, economic and cultural domains. Envisage enhanced collaboration to support self-reliance and resilient supply chains". They also exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine conflict, Afghanistan, North Africa, and South Asia and agreed to work closely in multilateral forums.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Foreign minister reiterated their commitment to work together to deepen bilateral relations. Both sides also signed a declaration for cultural and academic cooperation. "Excellent meeting with my counterpart, on my official trip to India, a global power and an important partner and ally", tweeted Spanish FM José Manuel Albares Bueno.
Albares’s visit provides an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our bilateral relations and further deepen the partnership across various areas including trade, defense, science & technology, innovation, climate, and culture sectors. According to the External Affairs Ministry, Spain is India’s eighth largest trade partner in Europe. Bilateral trade from January-December 2020 stood at $5.015 billion.
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India’s exports stood at $3.765 billion while imports stood at $1.51 billion. India’s top exports to Spain are textiles, organic chemicals, iron, and steel. This year, there has been a flurry of visits by foreign delegates from the EU including the President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen. During her visit, Ursula highlighted the vast potential of the EU-India strategic partnership and offer the EU perspective on current geopolitical challenges.
As the world’s two largest democracies, the EU and India share many of the same values and face many of the same challenges. However, this cooperation has yet to reach its full potential. India is also rapidly increasing its position as an economic and regional power.
