Sanchez will land in Vadodara within 24 hours of German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s departure from India, making it a back-to-back meeting with two European heads of government for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Vadodara, Sanchez and Modi will inaugurate the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd‘s (TASL’s) final assembly line facility for the C295 aircraft on Monday, according to officials.
This will be the first private-sector military aircraft manufacturing facility in India, described by the government as a “flagship Make in India” initiative in the aerospace sector.
People in the know said Spain is also interested in associating with India in the naval sector. Earlier, Spanish firm Navantia had partnered with L&T to compete for the P75(I) submarine project.
From Vadodara, the visiting PM will move to Mumbai, where he is expected to engage with trade and industry leaders, think tanks, and representatives of the film industry. Spain has emerged as one of the favourite locations for Indian filmmakers and tourists.Among other issues on the agenda is railway sector cooperation. It is said that Spanish train maker Talgo is keen on getting a footing in the Indian market. Talgo is running successful projects in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Uzbekistan.Spain is poised to be among India’s key partners for the Mediterranean region, where India is increasing its outreach.
Spain is India’s sixth largest trade partner in the European Union. Bilateral trade in goods between the two nations increased by 4.2% in 2023 to $8.25 billion, according to a government note. The same year, India’s exports to Spain grew by 5.2% to $6.33 billion while imports grew by 1.05% to $1.92 billion.
Spain is the 16th-largest investor in India, with foreign direct investment between April 2000 and December 2023 touching $3.94 billion.