"Marca España," the Radio Exterior de España (RNE) program dedicated to promoting initiatives, projects, and profiles that project a positive image of Spain, dedicated one of its episodes to presenting the Spain-India Dual Year 2026. They invited Berta Fuertes, director of the Spain-India Council Foundation, and Vega Yubero, deputy director, to discuss this initiative, which aims to strengthen mutual understanding and open new avenues for collaboration between India and Spain.
As Berta Fuertes explained, the Spain-India Dual Year "is not a schedule of ceremonial events; it is a commitment to preparing for the remaining years of this bilateral relationship." These types of events are carried out "with countries that are strategically very important to Spanish foreign policy."
The three pillars of the Dual Year are culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence. The director of the FCEI emphasized that "culture is the best calling card between societies, especially with Asian societies and, in particular, with India. Tourism is a first-rate economic and human driver, and there is enormous untapped potential between our two countries. And artificial intelligence, because Spain and India are developing very dynamic technological ecosystems." Despite all this, she added, "the Dual Year is open to other fields: science, sports, architecture, audiovisual... because lasting relationships are those with multiple points of entry."
In fact, a meeting recently took place between the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, and the Spanish Ambassador to India. As Berta Fuertes pointed out, "the most important aspect of these kinds of meetings is not always the signed agreement, but the message it conveys. Spain and India are incorporating new sectors into a bilateral agenda that is no longer limited to traditional areas. In the agri-food sector, the two countries share very similar challenges: food security, agricultural innovation, sustainability... And this meeting served to explore concrete avenues for cooperation." As an example, he cited the upcoming SembrAI International Congress on Artificial Intelligence Applied to the Food Chain, which will take place in Córdoba with India as the Guest Country.
Other highlights coming in the second half of the year include the Jaipur Literature Festival in Valladolid, the Flamenco Mumbai music project, Picasso exhibitions in New Delhi, and, of course, the sixth Spain-India Forum organized by the Spain-India Council Foundation, which will be held in Bangalore. In short, a program that combines culture, tourism, innovation, and institutional cooperation, forming an agenda that seeks to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and project it into the future.
Listen to the "Marca España" program on Radio Exterior
