Spain to Open Consulate in Bengaluru: Jaishankar

Madrid, Jan 14 (PTI) Spain will soon open a consulate in Bengaluru, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said calling it a "good sign" for deepening the relations between both the countries.

Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Spain, made these remarks on Monday while interacting with the Indian community here.

"In terms of our people-to-people relationship, I hope the people of Barcelona welcome that we have a consulate there... There will soon be a Spanish consulate in Bengaluru," he said while interacting with the community.

"These are good signs that our relationship is deepening and you create bigger establishments because you can say the business is becoming bigger. As the relationship deepens, for us to have a Consulate and who knows where we will be further in the future," he said.

"We have decided that we will mark 2026 as a dual year. A dual year where we will be celebrating culture, tourism and Artificial Intelligence in both countries. So through 2025, we will be working hard to prepare for 2026," he said.

This is Jaishankar's first visit to Spain as the external affairs minister - nearly two-and-a-half months after Spanish President Pedro Sanchez visited India.

On Monday, Jaishankar met his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares and discussed regional and global issues.

He also said that there are 230 Spanish companies in India and Delhi would welcome more of them to "join us and make in India, design in India and collaborate in India."

"When we look at our bilateral trade, it is about 10 billion euros. There are huge possibilities in railways, digital and urban technologies, smart cities, green and clean technologies...," he said.