India and the European Union are close to concluding a long-pending free trade deal, and negotiations are expected to be completed in the coming days, according to Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who was in New Delhi on Wednesday ahead of next week’s EU-India summit and a summit on artificial intelligence planned for next month.
After separate meetings with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and President Droupadi Murmu, Albares said the negotiations were progressing smoothly. “Everything is going perfectly. We don’t expect any obstacles,” he said.
If completed, the deal would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering a market of nearly two billion people. Albares presented the agreement as both an economic and strategic priority. “We must make it clear to the world that we believe in free trade and that we have the instruments of deterrence to protect us from economic coercion,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to arrive in India on Sunday evening to help resolve outstanding issues, including carbon border measures and import duties in sectors such as automobiles and steel, ahead of the EU-India summit on January 27.
Speaking earlier at the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen said the European Union was close to finalizing a free trade deal with India, calling it “the mother of all deals” and emphasizing the bloc’s intention to deepen trade relations and international cooperation. She has previously said the deal would create a market of two billion people, representing almost a quarter of global GDP.
Trade in goods between India and the EU has increased by almost 90% over the past decade, reaching around 120 billion euros in 2024, according to EU data.
Beyond trade, Albares’ visit highlighted the expansion of defense and industrial cooperation.
Addressing the Spanish delegation, Jaishankar said he saw “considerable potential” to strengthen economic and industrial partnerships, particularly in building resilient defense manufacturing capabilities. Albares cited the Airbus-Tata joint venture to manufacture C-295 transport aircraft in India as a model for future cooperation, noting that the first Indian-made Airbus aircraft from the Gujarat factory is expected to be deployed before September 2026, slightly ahead of schedule.
On bilateral relations, Albares said that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to visit India soon and expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Spain. “President Sanchez will be here in India very soon for an official visit, and I hope Prime Minister Modi can also visit Spain,” he said.
During his talks with Jaishankar, Albares formally conveyed Spain’s intention to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and reiterated Madrid’s desire to evolve relations with India towards a strategic partnership. “And we will also express our desire to evolve our relations towards a strategic association which constitutes the highest level of relationship that we have with friends, as is the case in India,” he said.
The two ministers also jointly unveiled the logo for the India-Spain Dual Year of Culture, Tourism and Artificial Intelligence in 2026, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Albares described India as a reliable partner amid global uncertainty. “In these very complicated times in the world, it is very important that Spain promotes our relations with a country as reliable as India, a country that believes in international law, that defends the principles of the United Nations Charter and that believes in multilateralism,” he said.
The two sides exchanged views on developments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, condemned terrorism in all its forms and stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation to address common security challenges.
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