India-Spain Relations

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Context: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with H.E. Mr. Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain.

Details:

The leaders discussed a number of bilateral and international issues of mutual interest.
They reviewed ongoing bilateral initiatives and expressed satisfaction at the recent high-level exchanges and growing cooperation in defence, economic and commercial sectors.
They agreed to collaborate on issues such as digital infrastructure, climate action, clean energy transition and sustainable development.

Background:

Relations between India and Spain have been cordial since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1956 with our High Commissioner in London concurrently accredited since 1958.
A Mission headed by a Cd'A was opened in Madrid in 1958.
The first resident Ambassador of India was appointed in 1965.

High Level Visits:

After a gap of 28 years, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, paid an official bilateral visit to Spain in 2017.
Prime Minister met Mr Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires in 2018.

Economic and Commercial Relations:

Spain is India´s 8th largest trade partner in Europe.
Bilateral trade during January – December 2020 stood at US$ 5.015 billion (MINCOTUR, Govt. of Spain), after crossing the US$ 6 billion mark for the first time in 2018.
India´s exports stood at US$ 3.765 billion while imports stood at US$1.51 billion.
India´s top exports to Spain are textiles, organic chemicals, iron & steel, Madrid seafood, automobiles and leather.
India´s major imports are mechanical appliances, electrical machinery, chemicals, plastic and mineral fuels.
Spain is the 15th largest investor in India with cumulative FDI stock of US$ 3.439 billion (April 2000 – March 2021).

Cultural and Academic Relations:

Cultural exchange is an important component of India-Spain bilateral relations.
ICCR sponsors cultural groups to Spain and offers ten scholarships annually to Spanish students to study in India.
ICCR is offering four scholarships to the Principality of Andorra for the first time in 2021.
Casa de la India, a PPP collaboration between ICCR, University of Valladolid and City of Valladolid was founded in 2003 as a platform for the promotion of India in Spain through activities in the fields of culture, education, cooperation and enterprise.

Indian community:

The Indian community forms a small percentage of the immigrant population of Spain.
Among the Asian communities, the Indian Diaspora is the third largest group.
The earliest Indian settlers were Sindhis who came from the subcontinent at the end of the 19th century and settled in the Canary Islands.
Many others travelled to Spain from Africa in the 1950´s and 1960´s, while others came directly from India. According to Spanish National Statistics Institute INE, the resident Indian origin population in Spain has gone up from 9000 in 2001 to 54387 in 2020.