India-Spain Relations Explained

India-Spain relations are the bilateral ties between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Spain, which have been formal since diplomatic relations were established in 1956 and have deepened in trade, investment, defence manufacturing, tourism and culture. The relationship is anchored by shared democratic values, a growing economic partnership and flagship projects such as the C-295 military transport aircraft programme in Vadodara.

India-Spain relations moved to a higher level after the 2024 visit of Spain’s prime minister to India, when leaders from both countries agreed to broaden cooperation. This explainer sets out the history, economic links, defence and technology cooperation, cultural ties and the main opportunities and limits of the partnership (last updated 9 October 2026).

Key Takeaways

• India and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1956, and each country maintains an embassy in the other’s capital.
• The C-295 programme, in which Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems build transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, is the most prominent example of India-Spain industrial cooperation.
• Spanish companies have invested in India in sectors such as infrastructure, automobile components, renewable energy, retail and banking, while Indian firms operate in Spain in information technology and pharmaceuticals.
• Spain’s prime minister visited India in October 2024, in a visit that included a joint inauguration of the C-295 final assembly line at Vadodara with India’s Prime Minister.
• Tourism, film, language learning, yoga and cultural centres connect the two societies, and Spain is a popular destination for Indian travellers.
• Spain’s membership of the European Union gives India an additional channel for cooperation, including on trade negotiations and climate and technology partnerships.

When did India and Spain establish diplomatic relations?

India and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1956, nine years after India’s independence and during the period when Spain was gradually ending its diplomatic isolation after the Second World War. Both countries opened missions in each other’s capitals in the years that followed.

In the early decades, ties were modest. India followed a policy of non-alignment, while Spain, then under an authoritarian government, was largely outside the main European political groupings. Contact grew slowly through trade, cultural exchanges and occasional ministerial visits.

A major shift came after Spain’s transition to democracy in the late 1970s and its entry into the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, in 1986. Spain became more outward-looking, and its companies and institutions began to look at Asian markets including India. India’s economic liberalisation from 1991 then opened new space for foreign business, and Spanish firms gradually entered the Indian market.

Since the 2000s, relations have been supported by regular leader and ministerial visits. The Indian Prime Minister visited Spain in 2017, and Spain’s prime minister visited India in 2024, marking steady high-level engagement on both sides.

How strong is the India-Spain trade and investment relationship?

India-Spain trade amounts to several billion US dollars a year and has grown over the past two decades, though it is smaller than India’s trade with larger European partners such as Germany. Spain is among the larger European economies, and both governments describe the economic potential as greater than current volumes.

Indian exports to Spain typically include textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, iron and steel products, automobile components, granite and other stones, and engineering goods. Spanish exports to India typically include machinery, chemicals, pharmaceutical inputs, auto parts and food products such as olive oil.

Spanish companies have been active in India for some time, with a few hundred firms commonly cited as present in the country in some form. Indian companies, especially in information technology, have set up operations in Spain, where they serve clients in banking, telecommunications and public services.

• Infrastructure and rail: Spanish firms in engineering, construction and rail technology have worked on Indian projects, including high-speed train trials by Talgo in 2016.
• Renewable energy: Spanish developers and equipment makers are active in wind and solar projects, and India and Spain both have large renewable capacity ambitions.
• Automobiles and components: Spanish component makers supply Indian car plants and use India as a manufacturing base.
• Retail and fashion: Spanish apparel retailers operate stores in Indian cities, either directly or through joint ventures.
• Banking and services: Spanish banks and consultancies serve clients in India, and Indian IT firms serve Spanish clients.

What is the C-295 programme between India and Spain?

The C-295 programme is a defence-industrial project under which Airbus Defence and Space of Spain and Tata Advanced Systems of India supply 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force, with 40 of them to be built in India. It is the first project in which a private sector firm in India manufactures a complete military aircraft.

The Indian government signed the contract in September 2021. Under it, 16 aircraft are delivered in “fly-away” condition from Airbus’s facility in Seville, Spain, while the remaining 40 are assembled in India. The new aircraft are meant to replace the ageing Avro (HS-748) transport fleet of the Indian Air Force.

India’s Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the final assembly line at Vadodara, Gujarat, in October 2022. In October 2024, the prime ministers of India and Spain jointly inaugurated the facility during Spain’s prime minister’s visit to India.

Why does the C-295 project matter?

The C-295 project matters because it builds an aerospace supply chain in India rather than only importing finished aircraft. Tata Advanced Systems is responsible for the final assembly, and a network of Indian suppliers produce structures, components and systems.

• Industrial base: the project creates skills and jobs in aerospace manufacturing.
• Self-reliance in defence: it supports India’s policy of increasing domestic defence production.
• Private sector role: it gives an Indian private firm experience in complete aircraft assembly.
• Export potential: the plan includes the possibility of civil and export variants produced in India.

What other areas of defence and security cooperation exist?

Besides the C-295 programme, India and Spain cooperate in defence and security through high-level dialogue, industry links, training and counter-terrorism consultations. Both countries are democracies that support a rules-based international order and are affected by transnational terrorism.

Spain’s defence industry is active in transport aircraft, naval shipbuilding, radar and electronics, and the two sides have discussed wider partnerships beyond the C-295. Defence officials have held meetings under bilateral mechanisms to review cooperation, and the two governments have discussed possible cooperation in areas such as maritime security and technology.

Counter-terrorism and security consultations form another strand. Spain has faced domestic terrorism and jihadist attacks, and India has faced cross-border terrorism, which has given both a shared interest in intelligence sharing and legal cooperation. India and Spain also work together in international organisations on these questions.

How do India and Spain cooperate in science, technology and green energy?

India and Spain cooperate in science and technology through research agencies, joint industrial research programmes, university links and company partnerships. Their interests overlap in renewable energy, water management, health, digital technology and space applications.

Renewable energy is a natural area of convergence. Spain was an early developer of wind and solar power, and Spanish firms have experience in grid integration, solar thermal plants and wind turbines. India has large solar and wind targets and a growing green hydrogen ambition. Both sides have expressed interest in expanding cooperation on green hydrogen, grid technology and sustainable mobility.

Research bodies in the two countries, including government technology agencies, have supported joint projects between Indian and Spanish institutions and companies. Universities and research centres in Spain host Indian researchers, and Indian students increasingly choose Spanish institutions, especially for business and technology programmes.

What cultural and people-to-people ties connect India and Spain?

Cultural and people-to-people ties between India and Spain are built on tourism, film, language and arts exchanges, institutions such as cultural centres, and a small but active diaspora. These links help to give the economic partnership a social base.

• Cultural institutions: the Instituto Cervantes operates a centre in New Delhi to teach Spanish and promote Spanish culture, while Casa de la India in Valladolid is a cultural centre devoted to promoting Indian culture in Spain.
• Language and academia: Spanish is taught at universities in India, and Indian studies, languages and yoga attract interest in Spain.
• Cinema: Spanish locations have been used in Indian films, and the festival scenes of La Tomatina in Buñol reached a very large Indian audience through a popular 2011 Hindi film.
• Yoga and wellness: yoga, ayurveda and meditation have a large following in Spain, and International Day of Yoga events are held there.
• Diaspora: people of Indian origin live in Spain, notably in Barcelona, Madrid and the Canary Islands, and some have been in business there for generations.

Governments have designated special themed years to promote exchanges. The two sides have announced a joint year focused on culture, tourism and artificial intelligence for 2026, designed to encourage exhibitions, festivals and academic partnerships.

How important is tourism in India-Spain relations?

Tourism is an important and growing part of India-Spain relations, because Spain is among the most visited countries in the world and an attractive destination for Indian travellers. Spanish visitors, in turn, are drawn to India’s heritage, spiritual and wildlife sites.

Indian visitors to Spain go for cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, architecture by Antoni Gaudi, beaches and football. Spain is part of the Schengen area, so Indian travellers can use a Schengen visa to visit it together with other European countries. Spanish tourists visit Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa and the Himalayan regions.

Both sides have worked to improve connectivity and visa facilitation, and flights between the two countries, including connections through hubs, have supported rising numbers of visitors. Film shooting, destination weddings and business travel add to the flow.

How has the 2024 visit changed India-Spain relations?

The October 2024 visit of Spain’s prime minister to India raised the profile of the relationship, with both leaders agreeing to deepen cooperation in defence, trade, technology, culture and other areas. It was widely reported as the first visit to India by a Spanish prime minister in nearly two decades.

The visit included a joint inauguration of the C-295 final assembly line in Vadodara, a business roadshow and discussions on the economic agenda. The leaders reviewed cooperation in investment, innovation, mobility and defence, and they agreed to continue high-level engagement.

What are the opportunities and limits in the relationship?

The opportunities in India-Spain relations lie in defence manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology and tourism, while the limits include modest trade volumes relative to potential and the dependence of broader trade terms on the EU. Spain’s economy and India’s growth create complementary opportunities.

Opportunities

• Expanding defence-industrial cooperation after the C-295 project.
• Collaboration on green hydrogen, renewable energy and grid technology.
• Spanish expertise in transport, water management and infrastructure that matches Indian needs.
• Growth of tourism, education and cultural exchanges.

Limits and challenges

• Trade remains small compared with India’s trade with larger European economies.
• Trade rules between India and Spain are set largely through the European Union, so a broader India-EU trade agreement affects the outlook.
• Regulatory and procedural hurdles can slow investment on both sides.
• Awareness of each other’s markets and opportunities among small and medium firms remains limited.

Bottom Line

India-Spain relations, formal since 1956, have grown from modest beginnings into a multi-sector partnership built around trade, investment, defence manufacturing and cultural exchange. The C-295 aircraft programme in Vadodara and the 2024 prime ministerial visit are the most visible signs of the relationship, and the main task ahead is turning shared interests into larger trade and investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

When were India-Spain diplomatic relations established?

India and Spain established diplomatic relations in 1956. Each country has an embassy in the other’s capital, in New Delhi and Madrid. High-level contact has increased since the 1990s as Spain’s economy opened to Asia and India liberalised its own.

What is the C-295 project between India and Spain?

The C-295 project is a programme in which Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems supply 56 C-295 transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force. Sixteen are delivered from Spain and 40 are assembled in India. The final assembly line is located in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Who visited whom in 2024?

Spain’s prime minister visited India in October 2024. During the visit he and India’s Prime Minister jointly inaugurated the C-295 final assembly line in Vadodara. It was reported as the first visit to India by a Spanish prime minister in nearly two decades.

What do India and Spain trade with each other?

India mainly exports textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, steel products and auto components to Spain. Spain mainly exports machinery, chemicals, auto parts and food products to India. Trade is worth several billion US dollars a year, and both sides see room to grow.

Which Spanish companies operate in India?

Spanish companies in India operate in infrastructure, renewable energy, automobile components, retail and banking. Well-known examples include the fashion retailer Inditex, engineering and renewable firms, and the rail manufacturer Talgo, which carried out high-speed train trials in India in 2016. A few hundred Spanish firms are often cited as present in the country.

How does the European Union affect India-Spain relations?

The European Union affects India-Spain relations because trade policy is decided at the EU level, not by individual member states. Spain is a member of the EU, so India’s trade agreement negotiations with the EU shape the economic prospects between the two countries. Bilateral cooperation in defence, culture and investment, however, continues directly between New Delhi and Madrid.

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