Spain: The 7th India-Spain Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were held in Madrid, the capital of Spain on October 9. Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs of India Sanjay Verma and Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union, and Cooperation Luis Manuel Cuesta Civis co-chaired the meeting.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had posted on X yesterday:
"7th 🇮🇳-🇪🇸 FOC held in Madrid today. Led by Secy (West) @SanjayVermalFS & Luis Manuel Cuesta Civis, Under Secretary @SpainMFA. They reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional & global developments, including G20, Indo-Pacific, IMEC, Ukraine, and Latin America."
Embassy of India in Madrid, Spain posted on X:
"India-Spain Foreign Office Consultations were held in Madrid today. The talks were led by Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS & Mr. Luis Manuel Cuesta Civis, Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation of Spain. @MEAIndia @SpainMFA @IndianDiplomacy
The two sides reviewed bilateral relations, and exchanged views on regional & global issues such as the G20, Indo-Pacific, IMEC, Ukraine, and Latin America."
According to External Affairs Ministry statement, the two sides expressed satisfaction at the enhanced bilateral engagement between the two countries. They undertook a comprehensive review of all aspects of the bilateral relations, including political, economic, and defence cooperation, trade relations, tourism, and cultural ties. The two sides expressed satisfaction on enhancing the diplomatic presence in each other’s countries through the proposed opening of new consulates in Bengaluru and Barcelona, which will provide a boost to bilateral trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts.
They also agreed to intensify engagement through increasing high-level visits and exchanges, and revitalizing bilateral mechanisms such as the Joint Working Group on Defence, Security Policy Dialogue, and the CEOs Forum.
India and Spain discussed the regional and global issues of mutual interest such as the situation in Ukraine, Latin America, BRICS, the Indo-Pacific, cooperation in multilateral fora, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and UNSC reforms.
The Spanish side also congratulated India for the successful conduct of its G20 Presidency. The Indian side commended Spain for its leadership as the President of the Council of the European Union.
Both sides acknowledged the importance of maintaining regular engagement through the mechanism of the FOC. The next round of consultations will be held in India on mutually convenient dates, External Affairs Ministry said in its statement.
Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs of India Sanjay Verma held several meetings with Spanish leaders and diplomats there.
Embassy of India in Madrid, Spain posted on X about the meetings.
"Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS and Amb @DineshKPatnaik met with the @Spain_India team and discussed ways to further develop and deepen bilateral relations by promoting knowledge exchange between 🇮🇳 & 🇪🇸."
"Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS and Amb @DineshKPatnaik met with the Secretary of State for Trade of Spain, H.E. Ms. Xiana Margarida Méndez and discussed ways to enhance 🇮🇳 & 🇪🇸 bilateral economic & commercial relations."
"Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS and Amb @DineshKPatnaik met with H.E Carme Artigas Brugal, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence and explored ways to enhance 🇮🇳&🇪🇸cooperation in the field of these new age technologies."
"Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS gave a talk on “India and the Voice of the Global South” at the Royal Institute Elcano in Madrid followed by a Q&A session. He highlighted the role India’s #G20 presidency played in promoting the Voice of the Global South."
