NEW DELHI: India and Spain condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasised the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism, as external affairs minister S Jaishankar hosted his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares for a bilateral meeting on Wednesday. For the second time this week, Jaishankar told a visiting European foreign minister the world must display zero tolerance towards terrorism. Jaishankar had conveyed the same message to Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski who visited India this week, albeit more bluntly because of Poland’s recent courting of Pakistan.“The world order is clearly undergoing a profound change. It is more imperative than ever before for nations to collaborate on shared challenges. This is particularly the case with respect to combating terrorism where both India and Spain have been victims. The world must display zero tolerance towards terrorism,” said Jaishankar in his opening remarks in the meeting with Albares.According to the MEA, the ministers reviewed the entire gamut of India-Spain relationship, including trade and investment, defence and security, culture, tourism and people-to-people ties. “The ministers discussed recent developments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and exchanged views on other issues of shared interest,” said the govt, as Albares handed over to Jaishankar a declaration of Spain’s accession to India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. Albares said Spanish President Pedro Sanchez will visit India soon and expressed hope Modi too would visit Spain.
