Elias Bendodo and Carme Artigas, Honorary Commissioners for the Spain-India Dual Year 2026

As part of the preparations for the Spain-India Dual Year, to be celebrated throughout 2026, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in India recently appointed Elías Bendodo as Honorary Commissioner for Tourism and Carme Artigas as Honorary Commissioner for Artificial Intelligence, two of the event's main themes.

The appointment ceremony was attended by the Indian Ambassador to Spain, Jayant Khobragade; the Chamber's President, Kabir C. Sukhwani; and other national, regional, and local authorities, as well as business representatives and members of the diplomatic corps. During his remarks, Kabir C. Sukhwani emphasized "the honor of advancing a mission that strengthens the institutional relationship between Spain and India."

Elias Bendodo, for his part, considered it a "tremendous honor" to be named Honorary Commissioner and congratulated the Chamber for placing tourism among the priority areas of the Dual Year, given that this sector represents 13% of Spain's GDP and our country receives 85 million visitors each year. Carme Artigas, in turn, highlighted that the Dual Year coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and emphasized that India is "one of the most dynamic digital societies in the world" with a huge startup ecosystem, while Spain has two European AI Factories and a digital economy that represents 26% of its GDP.

Ambassador Jayant Khobragade, finally, highlighted the strengthening of bilateral relations between Spain and India in the areas of politics, trade, investment, defense, and culture, as well as the people-to-people ties, and underscored the importance of the new commissioners' work in the upcoming Dual Year.

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