The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, held a working meeting yesterday with the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, in which they reviewed the aeronautical and defense programs developed jointly and analyzed the areas of collaboration and mutual interest.
The meeting, the third at the highest level between the Government and Airbus management since 2020, was attended by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; and the Minister of Science, Diana Morant, as well as the Secretary General for Economic Affairs and G20, Manuel de la Rocha, and the Director of the National Security Department, Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, together with other senior executives of the company.
According to the Government, the upcoming launch of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation (PERTE) aerospace “will contribute to the positioning of Spain in the international arena to compete in the space sector”. Likewise, both the Executive and the company agreed on the need to strengthen joint R&D&I and industrial development programs in Spain.
The meeting also addressed the future of the Airbus plant in Puerto Real (Cadiz) and the company’s employment situation in Spain. “Since the pandemic began, the government has made an extraordinary effort to support the aerospace sector, where Airbus is a key partner,” said Moncloa. For its part, the company reported its willingness to increase its commitment to R&D in strategic future programs in Spain related to the reduction of emissions and the subsequent decarbonization of aviation.
