India–Spain relations or Indo–Spanish relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

and the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

Pre-contemporary era

In 1425 CE, Gitano

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

of Indian origin were recorded living in Spain. From 1492, after Christian

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

of Spain and Roma along with Moors and Jews were targeted to purge Spain of non-Christians. In 1499, Ferdinand and Isabella passed the law against Roma. In 1560 ''the habit and the costume'' of Roma were banned. Roma were forced to marry non-Roma, their language and rituals banned. In the 17th century, Spain deported Romas to the Americas and Africa. In 1749, Romas were arrested in the widespread persecution. From 1580 to 1640,

Portuguese India The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

(including Goa) was under Spanish control because of the

Iberian Union The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...

Contemporary era

Relations between India and Spain are warm since the establishment of democracy in Spain in 1978. Diplomatic relations between India and Spain were established in 1956 with the opening of the Spanish Embassy in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, the

Maharaja of Jaipur Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

, was appointed in 1965 as the first

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Visits

Official visits by Prime Ministers

In 1992 Prime Minister

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

and in 2017 Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

visited Spain.

Trade

Relations between India and Spain have been cordial since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1956. A Mission headed by a Cd'A opened in Madrid in 1958. The first resident Ambassador of India was appointed in 1965. Spain is India's 7th largest trade partner in the European Union. Bilateral trade in 2017-18 stood at US$5.66 billion (Dept. of Commerce), posting a growth of 4.91% over similar period a year ago. India's exports grew 16.65% and stood at US$3.99 billion while imports shrank by 15.51% and stood at US$1.66 billion. India's top exports to Spain are textiles, organic chemicals, iron & steel, seafood, automobiles and leather. India's major imports are mechanical appliances, electrical machinery, chemicals, plastic and mineral fuels. Spain is the 15th largest investor in India with cumulative FDI stock of US$2.76 billion (April 2000 – June 2018). There are nearly 200 Spanish companies in India mainly in the sectors of metallurgical industries, renewable energy, automotive, ceramics and infrastructure mainly in highways, transmission lines, tunnels and metro stations. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the major destinations for Spanish investments in India. Indian investment in Spain stood at around US$900 million. There are nearly 40 Indian companies in Spain mainly in software & IT services, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and logistics. India is among the top 30 investors in Spain globally and among the top 5 from Asia. Commerce Secretary led the Indian delegation to the 11th round of India Spain JCEC held in Madrid in January 2018. Under the framework of the JCEC, the India Spain CEOs Forum was constituted in February 2015. The first formal meeting of the CEOs Forum was held in Madrid in May 2017. Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) along with the Spanish Centre for Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) instituted the India-Spain Programme of Cooperation on Industrial Research and Development, a bilateral framework for providing financial support to collaborative R&D ventures between Indian and Spanish industry and academia. India and Spain have an ongoing Joint Programme of Cooperation in S&T, signed in 2009. A Science, Technology and Innovation Steering Committee Meeting was held in September 2017 in Madrid, as highlighted in the Joint Statement during the PM's visit to Spain. There are ongoing innovation driven joint R&D projects in sectors such as biosensors, bio pesticides, bio-economy, waste-to-energy, e-health and flexible electronics. During the PM visit, a MoU on cooperation in Organ transplants was also signed. India Spain bilateral cooperation in sports has been strengthened by interaction between the sports industries in both countries and participation of leading players and teams in events in India and vice versa especially in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

, and

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

. There is potential for having a separate MOU for cooperation in the field of sports. Recognizing the immense potential for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism, it was agreed to set up an Expert Panel on Tourism during PM's visit. The first India-Spain Expert Panel on Tourism was held in Madrid on May 21, 2018, led by Shri Suman Billa (JS, M/Tourism) on the Indian side and Mr. Manuel Butler (DG, Turespaña) on the Spanish side. India regularly participates in major international trade fairs and conferences in Spain viz. FITUR (Tourism), Mobile World Congress (Telecom), CPhI Worldwide (Pharmaceuticals) and Smart City Expo World Congress (Smart Cities). As agreed in the Joint Statement issued during PM's visit, the II Spain India Forum was jointly organized by CII and Spain India Council Foundation in Madrid in November 2017, in which over 200 companies participated. During 2017, the Embassy, in collaboration with its local chambers of Commerce and Industry associations, organized around 40 commercial events for trade and investment promotion and to present government's flagship initiatives. These events were focused on key sectors like infrastructure, renewals energy, food processing, automotives, defence, IT, smart cities, tourism, agri-food sector, innovation and gastronomy

Controversies

On October 17, 2022, the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi arbitrarily denied visas to 21 female and male Indian Wrestlers, preventing them from participating in the U-23 World Championships scheduled in Pontevedra, Spain from October 17 - 23, 2022. Denials included the U-20 Gold Medalist

Antim Panghal Antim Panghal (born 2004) is an Indian wrestler from Haryana. She won a silver medal at Asian wrestling championship 2023. She was India's first-ever U-20 world wrestling champion. She retained the championship the following year. Early life ...

Resident diplomatic missions

* India has an embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and a consulate-general in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. * Spain has an embassy in

and a consulate-general in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

.Embassy of Spain in New Delhi
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:India-Spain relations

Bilateral relations of Spain