Spanish Prez to visit India from Oct 27-29 to boost bilateral ties: MEA

Spanish President Pedro Sanchez will be on an official visit to India from October 27-29 during which he will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give a boost to bilateral ties, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday.

"This will be his first visit to India. The visit of the President of Spain is taking place after 18 years," the MEA said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Sanchez have met several times earlier on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.

"At the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, President of the Government of Spain Pedro Sanchez, accompanied by his spouse Begona Gomez will pay an official visit to India from October 27-29," it said.

"The two leaders will inaugurate the Final Assembly Line Plant of C295 aircraft at Vadodara, a flagship 'Make in India initiative in aviation sector, which is being set up by Tata Advanced Systems in collaboration with Airbus Spain," the MEA said in a statement.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on President Sanchez during his visit, it said.

"A number of MoUs/agreements are expected to be signed during the visit which shall give a fillip to bilateral cooperation," the statement said.

President Sanchez will also visit Mumbai where, apart from official engagements, he will interact with trade and industry leaders, think tanks and the film industry.

"India and Spain enjoy close and friendly relations. The bilateral ties got a fresh impetus after Prime Minister Modi visited Spain in 2017. President Sanchez's visit will be an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our bilateral relations and further deepen the partnership across various sectors including trade and investment, IT, innovation, infrastructure, renewable energy, defence and security, pharma, Agro-tech and Bio-tech, culture and tourism," it added.