A historic India-EU trade deal will likely be concluded in the next few days, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday, framing the agreement as a measure of security against economic coercion.
The deal, coming on the heels of an agreement signed on Monday between the European Union and Mercosur, would create the world’s largest free-trade zone, a powerful signal as U.S. President Donald Trump imposes steep tariffs on India and threatens higher tariffs on Europe for its refusal to support his plans to take Greenland against its will.
During his meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in the national capital, Albares said Spain was keen to deepen engagement with India through the European Union and join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative.
“President Sanchez will be very soon here in India for an official visit, and I hope that Prime Minister Modi will be able to visit Spain as well. We are going to continue working bilaterally through the European Union and as well in the multilateral sphere, and we will be very happy to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative and have brought the letter to you to mark that moment,” he said.
“And we will also express our wish of upgrading our relationship to a strategic association that is the highest level of relationship that we have with friends like is the case in India,” Albares added.
He also thanked Jaishankar for India’s message of solidarity following a recent train accident in Barcelona that killed over 40 people.
“And thank you very much for your message of solidarity to the Spanish people in this very painful moment,” he said.
Albares said the logo unveiled for the upcoming dual year of culture, tourism and artificial intelligence reflected the shared vision of India and Spain.
“It has been a pleasure for me to present jointly with you our common logo for the Dual Year. It fully represents our shared vision for this year and for the future of our relationship that has been increasing in the last few years,” he said.
“I know that both countries are working on a packed programme of events that are going to mark this year, and I really look forward to having it presented in Spain as well. And I’m also very glad that it involved the participation of the public through the crowdsourcing method,” Albares added.
As the global order undergoes significant churn, Albares said it was important for Spain to strengthen ties with a “reliable” partner like India.
“In these very complicated times in the world, it’s very important for Spain to foster our relationship with such a reliable country like India, a country that believes in international law, that upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter, and that believes in multilateralism,” he said.
He added that concluding the EU-India free trade agreement would send a strong signal.
“A very good sign would be the final agreement of the FTA with the European Union that we very much would love to see being put forward finally. It’s the right time for that. Spain and India are the two fastest-growing economies in the world and our enterprises are benefiting from that,” Albares said.
“We will discuss later on the possibility of continuing increasing our trade relations, the presence of Spanish companies in India, the presence of Indian companies in Spain,” he added.
Highlighting defence cooperation, Albares cited the Airbus-Tata partnership as a model for future collaboration. “I think that the partnership between Airbus and Tata is the real example of what we have to foster and what we have to be achieving,” he said.
“I hope that the pace of high-level visits that we have been having in the last years — and once again, I want to thank you for your presence as a special invitee in last year’s Ambassadors’ Conference in Spain — will continue,” he added.
EAM Jaishankar said there was “considerable potential” for expanding economic cooperation, particularly in building resilient manufacturing capabilities. A joint venture between Airbus and Tata Group to manufacture C-295 aircraft in India was cited as a key example.
The first made-in-India Airbus aircraft from the Gujarat facility is expected to roll out before September 2026, slightly ahead of schedule, Jaishankar said.
Earlier, the MEA said Albares would hold talks with Jaishankar on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said on Tuesday that the EU was close to finalising a free trade agreement with India, noting that some have described it as “the mother of all deals”. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, she stressed Europe’s intent to expand trade and international cooperation.
Von der Leyen is expected to arrive in India on Sunday ahead of the EU-India summit on January 27 to resolve outstanding issues, including carbon levies and import duties in key sectors such as automobiles and steel.
She has said the deal would create a market of nearly two billion people, accounting for close to a quarter of global GDP. Trade in goods between India and the EU has grown by nearly 90 per cent over the past decade, reaching 120 billion euros in 2024, according to EU data.
(with agency input)
