Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez yesterday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome. The two leaders held discussions to strengthen bilateral relations. Both leaders had fruitful talks on ways to deepen ties between India and Spain. The two nations are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, energy, innovation and more. Mr Modi invited Spain to invest in various sectors in India including green hydrogen, infrastructure and defence manufacturing and further take advantage of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline, Asset Monetization Plan and the Gati Shakti Plan. The two leaders welcomed the growing bilateral trade and investment linkages including the recent signing of the contract to procure 56 C295 aircraft from Airbus Spain, 40 of which will be made in India in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems. They agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation in new areas like e-mobility, cleantech, advanced materials and deep-sea exploration. The two leaders discussed India-EU relations as well as cooperation on climate action and priorities at the upcoming COP26. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific. Mr Modi said he is looking forward to welcoming PM Sanchez to India next year.
Mr Modi also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday. Both sides extensively discussed bilateral relations and reaffirmed the commitment to maintain the close Strategic Partnership. PMO said, The strong friendship between the two nations augurs well for the well-being of the planet. He also met President of Indonesia Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the Summit. PM Modi also attended an event hosted by US President Joe Biden on Supply Chain Resilience.