Spain and the Slovak Republic give a boost to their trade relations and investments

Official trip to Bratislava

Reyes Maroto ha afirmado: «Con esta visita queremos reforzar el compromiso del Gobierno con el proyecto de Inobat, para que España, y, en concreto, Valladolid, sea elegido para su nueva fábrica».


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The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has traveled the Slovak Republic to promote the arrival Spain of new investments linked to the manufacture of batteries necessary to promote the new electric and connected mobility.

 

During the trip, in which she was accompanied by the Spanish Ambassador to Slovakia, Lorea Arribalzaga, the Secretary General of 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 with the president of the company, Andy Palmer. Inobat is a company specialized in the research, development, manufacturing and recycling of batteries. The trip was completed with a visit to the facilities that Inobat has in the fenced city of Voderady.

 

Slovakia, is one of the most important European automobile manufacturing centers, employing more than 200.000 people and whose brands with factories in this country include Volkswagen, KIA, Land Rover or Volvo.

 

For the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, “with this visit we want to reinforce the Government's commitment to the Inobat project, so that Spain, and, specifically, Valladolid, is chosen for its new factory. We have excellent human capital, top-level infrastructure and top-of-the-line how-know in electric and connected mobility. Spain is firmly committed to the electrification of the automobile industry and we are promoting investments in this type of initiatives through the European and PERTE VEC Funds, whose second call we will launch 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 investments in multiple sectors, including the automotive industry, which aspires to become an electromobility hub at the European level.”

 

This meeting is a continuation of the protocol signed on October 17 in Madrid between the Ministry of Industry and the Slovak company, where the interest of Spain and specifically Valladolid in hosting the new factory that Inobat plans to build in Europe with a planned investment of 3.000 million euros was evident. The company is considering several candidates for choosing the location. The city of Valladolid is among those pre-selected thanks to its positioning in the sector and its geostrategic location.

 

The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism signs a Memorandum of Understanding with her counterpart Andrej Doležal on tourism to enhance collaboration between both countries

 

Signature of a Mou on Tourism

 

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

 

The signing of this agreement constitutes another significant step in the strengthening of bilateral relations in a year in which the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations is celebrated and confirms the interest of both countries in increasing and diversifying reciprocal investments.

 

The minister has conveyed to her counterpart the willingness of our government to increase tourism collaboration and has invited him to visit Fitur, which will be held this week in Madrid. He has also explained the lines of action of the Spanish Presidency of the EU in tourism that it will develop during the second half of this year.