Spanish PM in India seeking to bolster trade ties

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was welcomed to India Monday with a flower-filled open-top parade alongside counterpart Narendra Modi, as Madrid seeks to boost investment in the world's fifth-largest economy.

The duo waved to crowds in a vehicle on their way to inaugurate a military aircraft factory, a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus, in Vadodara in Gujarat state. It is the first visit by a Spanish premier to India for 18 years. The Indian plant in Vadodara will complete the first "Made in India" C295 aircraft in 2026. Sanchez said Airbus had opened a new chapter in India's defence and space industry.