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India-Spain relations got a great boost first in 2017 (when Modi visited Spain) and 2024 (when Sanchez visited India). India is trying to cultivate Europe (in his 2020 published book Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar used the word ‘cultivate’) and in that process Spain is a very important country in the EU. For India, at the micro level the bilateral relationship with Spain is very warm and cordial. To display the underlying warmth in India-Spain relations, Modi and Sanchez did road show in a car together at Vadodara, waving at the crowds of people on the roads. Even historically speaking to this day, there has been no baggage or source of friction between India and Spain.
The relationship is not performing as per the expectation as a lot more effort and time has to be invested by both countries to ensure every nook and corner of the relationship fully explored, just to take one example trade between the two countries is quite underperforming too as its just at ten billion dollars (or around that number somewhere in 2023). Modi had said India will take steps to bridge gap of global north, global south. Spain being a member of G20 highlights the fact that India can work even more closely with Spain to facilitate the alleviation of the global south. In the defence sector, India and Spain touched upon an important achievement which was the opening of a C-295 aircraft facility in Gujarat on 28 October 2024.
Prime Minister Modi and President Sanchez inaugurated this C-295 aircraft facility in Gujarat at Vadodara. This will lead to manufacture of this aircraft and its parts. C-295 will help in tactical transport of Indian troops. A total of 56 of these C-295 aircrafts will be delivered to India. Sixteen come in a state of readiness from Airbus in Spain, while forty will be made in Vadodara. This will boost Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and eventually increase the India’s defence export.
Spain was affected very hard by the sovereign debt crisis of 2010 which was followed by a global economic crisis of 2007-2008 that is the subprime mortgage crisis starting from the United States. So, Spain was one of those countries in addition to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and till some extent Italy also. At that point in time Spain’s youth unemployment was at a very high level but kudos to the Spanish leadership that it was able to emerge out of the challenges that it faced and it is coming and making its own statement on global scale.
One has seen how Spain has been acting as far as Israel-Palestinian war/wider crisis in Middle East is concerned, on the other hand President Sanchez has been standing steadfast in support of Ukraine. So, there are similarities and differences as far as orientation and approach of Germany and Spain are concerned. Therefore, the notable point in all this is that India and Germany have a strategic partnership since 2000 still it has not seen the kind of defence sector achievement that India and Spain achieved over the C-295 aircraft deal.
The main reason behind it is the friction too between India and Germany about how to deal with Russia, that is a kind of objection put forth from the German side about the robust India-Russia relations since the days of Cold War till date (especially in context of the Ukraine war that started on 24 February 2022). 14 January 2025 Jaishankar was in Spain along with his Spanish counterpart, Jaishankar said “We also have a very good history of collaborating in the G20. Your presence, your contributions to the G20 have always been valued. We want to intensify that. Where the UN is concerned, we not only work closely but we are deployed in Lebanon, our peacekeepers are deployed in Lebanon and Golan Heights and again I think we have common interests here to advance. We have had the beginnings of our conversation on global and regional issues. I look forward to continuing it after this press conference but certainly recent global developments, what is happening in the Indo-Pacific, the situation in the Middle East, the future of developments in Ukraine, I think concerns about terrorism. I think these are all issues which will be on our agenda. Let me conclude by saying this; the world may look today a little volatile and uncertain. It is important that countries and partners who have similar attitudes and converging interests work more closely. I am very confident that strong India-Spain relations and a strong India-EU collaboration can be a stabilizing factor in a turbulent world and I certainly hope that my conversations with you and with your leadership would help advance that process.” It is heartening to see India, Spain taking International Law so seriously!
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