José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero tricentenary of British rule and rejected the Gibraltarians' requests for Spain to recognise their right to self-determination, at the end of 2004 his policy changed and he became the first Spanish prime minister to accept the participation of Gibraltar as a partner on the same level as Spain and the United Kingdom in discussions both countries hold regularly concerning the territory. The decision was criticized by many in Spain as a surrender of their claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar as well as an alleged disruption of the Treaty of Utrecht. Zapatero said it was a new way to solve a
Prime Minister of India Front, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) among others—proved a majority in the Lok Sabha, and Manmohan Singh was elected prime minister; becoming the first Sikh prime minister of the nation. During his tenure, the country retained the economic momentum gained during Prime Minister Vajpayee's tenure. Apart from this, the government succeeded in getting the "National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005", and the "Right to Information Act, 2005" passed in the parliament. Further, the government strengthened India's relations with nations like Afghanistan; Russia; the Gulf states; and the United States, culminating with the ratification of India–United States