An Indian Catholic priest returned to India on Thursday after being freed from 18 months of captivity by unknown kidnappers in Yemen.
Indian priest Tom Uzhannalil talks to media after meeting Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. The Indian Catholic priest returned to India on Thursday after being freed from 18 months of captivity by unknown kidnappers in Yemen. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The Rev. Tom Uzhunnalil arrived in the Indian capital and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government officials.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Uzhunnalil thanked people who helped in his rescue.
Uzhunnalil had been working as a chaplain at a retirement home for more than four years in the southern Yemeni city of Aden when he was kidnapped during an attack by unknown gunmen in March 2016. The attack left 16 dead, including four nuns.
Indian priest Tom Uzhannalil talks to media after meeting Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Indian officials earlier this month announced the priest's rescue but gave no details.
The process leading to his release was also unclear, but the Vatican thanked the sultan of Oman and Uzhunnalil thanked leaders in India.
The priest said after his rescue that he didn't know his kidnappers' identities or affiliations and that he was not physically harmed during his detention. After his release he was flown to Rome for a "required rest and recuperation period in Vatican City," India's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Uzhunnalil comes from Ramapuram in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Indian priest Tom Uzhannalil, third right, talks to Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, left in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. The Indian Catholic priest returned to India on Thursday after being freed from 18 months of captivity by unknown kidnappers in Yemen. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
VADODARA, India (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated India's first private military aircraft plant on Monday, boosting New Delhi's ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defense and aerospace industries.
Sanchez was welcomed to the country with a roadshow in Gujarat state's Vadodara city where hundreds of people cheered and waved banners.
The two leaders then launched the Tata Aircraft Complex, the manufacturing hub that will produce the Airbus C-295 transport military aircraft in collaboration with Airbus Spain and to be deployed by the Indian air force.
Sanchez said the project was a triumph of Modi's vision “to turn India into an industrial powerhouse and a magnet for investment and business-to-business collaboration."
“This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry and will open new doors for the arrival of other European companies,” he added.
The chairman of Tata conglomerate, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, hailed it as a historic day for the country's defense sector and credited the late Ratan Tata, the industrialist and former chairman who died earlier this month, for conceiving the idea more than a decade ago.
Under a $2.5 billion deal signed in 2021, Airbus will deliver the first 16 of the aircraft from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain. Six of them have been delivered to the Indian air force so far.
Tata Advanced Systems Ltd will produce 40 of the aircraft in the Vadodara plant, which is expected to roll out the first C-295 aircraft made in India in 2026. The aircraft can transport up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers and will be able to access remote locations. It can also be used for medical evacuations and to aid in disaster response and maritime patrol duties.
Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has vowed to turn India into a global manufacturing hub, including in infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and defense. As part of an effort to modernize and reform military equipment, the government has sought to grow the private defense manufacturing sector, a space previously occupied solely by the government-run organizations, and has eased foreign direct investment regulations to try and encourage companies to establish themselves in India.
The visit marks the first by a Spanish leader to India in 18 years. Modi and Sanchez have previously met on the sidelines of global summits in 2018 and 2021. During the two-day visit, Sanchez will hold talks with Modi to review ties between the countries and also speak with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
On Tuesday, Sanchez will travel to Mumbai, India's financial capital and home to Bollywood, where he is expected to interact with trade and industry leaders, and also visit film studios in an effort to grow collaboration between the Indian and Spanish entertainment industry.
Their bilateral trade stood at nearly $10 billion as of 2023. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, more than 200 Spanish companies actively operate in India and around 80 Indian companies in Spain.
The two leaders are expected to sign agreements that will further boost ties and cooperation in various areas such as trade, information technology, renewable energy and defense, according to an Indian government statement.
In this photo provided by the Gujarat state Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurate Tata Aircraft complex for made in India C-295 aircraft in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Gujarat State Press Information Bureau via AP)
In this photo provided by the Gujarat state Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hand with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez in front of Laxmi Vilas Palace before their meeting in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Gujarat State Press Information Bureau via AP)
In this photo provided by the Gujarat state Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, pose in front of C-295 transport military aircraft after inaugurating India's first private military aircraft plant in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Gujarat State Press Information Bureau via AP)
In this handout photo provided by the Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, third left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, second left, listen to an aide at the exhibition after inaugurating India's first private military aircraft plant in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (Press Information Bureau via AP)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center left, and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, center right, wave to greet people from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo)
