New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held separate meetings with President of Spain Pedro Sanchez and Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo, and said the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has ushered in a golden era in India-Europe relations.
Modi said he had a productive meeting with President Pedro Sanchez and discussed ways to boost the India-Spain friendship, especially in areas such as defence, security and technology.
"Our nations are marking 2026 as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and AI. This will deepen people-to-people linkages. Glad to see a big delegation of Universities also come to India. This, too, will go a long way in connecting our people.
"The historic FTA with the EU will have a very positive impact on the economic partnership with Spain and provide new opportunities to the people of our nations," Modi said in a post on X.
India and the European Union on January 27 sealed the landmark FTA -- billed as the "mother of all deals" -- to create a market of 2 billion people.
President Sanchez said that alongside Prime Minister Modi, he noted the excellent state of relations between Spain and India, which the two will continue to strengthen.
"I have congratulated him on the organisation of the Summit on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence. We share the need to continue taking steps towards an AI that puts people at the centre," Sanchez said in a post on X in Spanish.
Prime Minister Modi and President Sanchez held bilateral talks and reviewed the entire gamut of India-Spain relations, including trade and investment, technology, infrastructure, climate and renewable energy, defence and security, space, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in an official statement.
They welcomed the positive momentum in bilateral cooperation and expressed happiness at the progress on Tata-Airbus collaboration for C-295 transport aircraft final assembly line at the Vadodara facility, jointly inaugurated by them in October 2024.
Modi and Sanchez emphasised the "high potential" of India-Spain Dual Year of Culture, Tourism and Artificial Intelligence, being celebrated this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two
countries, in further promoting bilateral technology, innovation, business and people-to-people ties, the statement said.
They stressed the importance of defence industrial collaboration based on co-development and co-production as the way forward.
The Spanish president is here at the invitation of PM Modi on an official visit from February 18 to 19.
Sanchez highlighted the importance of the summit and expressed confidence that its outcomes would contribute meaningfully to shaping global AI governance.
According to the statement, Modi and Sanchez recognised AI as a transformative force and underlined the need for closer India-Spain cooperation to leverage its potential for inclusive development and societal benefit.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.