Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was addressing a conference on India-Spain Cooperation on Higher Education organized by the Education Ministry in New Delhi on Friday (February 20, 2026). | Photo credit: ANI
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday (20 February 2026) welcomed leading Spanish universities to set up campuses in India as the two countries deepened academic engagement at the India-Spain Higher Education Conference in New Delhi.
At the closing ceremony, Mr Pradhan said he was “open, ready and receptive” to global academic collaboration. Spain’s ambassador to India, Juan Antonio March Pujol, said talks have already begun between the two countries on joint research, mobility of teachers and students, and support for start-ups.
Follow-up meeting in Spain
Mr Pujol said negotiations were expected to “ripe in 2026”, suggesting a similar meeting could be held in Spain later this year, which could lead to the signing of a memorandum of understanding and agreements.
The two-day conference coincided with India’s AI Impact Summit, where the education minister said democracies must lead in shaping responsible innovation around AI, adding that “India and Spain are determined to do just that.”
A conference focused on the future
Higher Education Minister Vineet Joshi said the conference proceedings were “focused and forward-looking and reaffirmed that education remains central to India-Spain engagement”.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Education, the conference was attended by over 30 rectors and senior academic representatives representing the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) along with representatives from around 70 Indian universities.
CRUE President Professor Eva Alcón said the conference marked “not the end, but the beginning of a long and meaningful partnership”, adding that it was expected to work towards “shared goals” of “advancing equitable access to higher education, sustainable development and global health”, which would require “balancing local priorities with a global vision”.
Published – 20 Feb 2026 21:26 IST