Spain and Slovakia strengthen relations in areas such as sustainable mobility and tourism

During the trip, on which she was accompanied by the Spanish Ambassador to Slovakia, Lorea Arribalzaga, the Secretary General for Industry and SMEs, Francisco Blanco, and the Mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, the Minister met with the CEO and founder of Inobat, Marian Bocek, and the company's President, Andy Palmer. Inobat is a company that specialises in researching, developing, manufacturing and recycling batteries. The trip was rounded off with a visit to Inobat's facilities in the nearby town of Voderady.

Slovakia is one of Europe's major car manufacturing centres, employing over 200,000 people, with Volkswagen, KIA, Land Rover and Volvo among the brands that have factories in the country.

According to the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, "with this visit, we want to reinforce the Government of Spain's commitment to the Inobat project, so that Spain, and specifically Valladolid, is chosen for its new factory. We have excellent human capital, first-class infrastructure and world-class know-how in electric and connected mobility. Spain is firmly committed to the electrification of the automotive industry, and we are promoting investments in this type of initiative through the European Funds and the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation for promoting electric and connected vehicles (PERTE VEC), whose second call for proposals will be launched in the first quarter of this year. Our country offers investors confidence, security and certainty, as it has an ambitious investment and reform plan that is attracting investment in multiple sectors, including the automotive industry, which aspires to become a hub for electromobility at the European level."

This meeting is a continuation of the protocol signed on 17 October 2022 in Madrid between the Ministry of Industry and the Slovak company, where the interest of Spain and specifically Valladolid to host the new factory that Inobat plans to build in Europe with a planned investment of EUR 3 billion was made clear. The company is considering several candidates for the choice of site. The city of Valladolid is among the pre-selected cities thanks to its position in the sector and its geostrategic location.

Signing of a MoU on Tourism

During the official trip to Slovakia, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism met with the Minister for Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic, Andrej Doležal, with whom she signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tourism with the aim of increasing the exchange of experiences in this field. Spain is a world leader in tourism and can offer knowledge and advice to this Central European country, which is interested in increasing tourism flows.

The signing of this agreement is another significant step in the strengthening of bilateral relations in a year that marks the 30^th anniversary of diplomatic relations being established between the countries, and confirms the interest of both countries in increasing and diversifying reciprocal investments.

The Minister has conveyed to her counterpart the willingness of the Government of Spain to increase collaboration in the field of tourism and has invited him to visit the Fitur International Tourism Fair, which will be held this week in Madrid. She also explained the lines of action for the Spanish Presidency of the EU when it comes to tourism, which will be carried out during the second half of this year.

Non official translation