This was the first meeting of the Foundation with the new Secretary General
Our trustee Acciona sponsored a working breakfast of the members of the Board with the Ambassador of Australia to Spain, Julie-Ann Guivarra. The head of Australia’s representation in Spain analysed the actual political and economic situation, as well as the main objectives of their foreign policy.
Ambassador Guivarra highlighted the good health of the Australian economy, more than 27 years of continuous growth. Reforms must be maintained to continue this positive trend, and they will be strongly influenced by the 2019 electoral results.
Julie-Ann Guivarra stressed as well the importance that for Australia has the negotiation of the free trade agreement with the European Union, as more of 60% of Australian trade is covered by FTA´s.
BREXIT was another issue raised by Ambassador Guivarra, it’s a challenge but she showed cautious when making predictions as they have to wait to see how the United Kingdom exit from the European Union affects third countries as them.
She also mentioned the need of maintaining innovation in all sectors, as all them are affected by technology. The education is one of the main sectors in Australia, and Spain is the second market in the European Union, and it with considerable opportunities for collaboration.
Jesús Rodríguez-Andía y Parada, new Secretary General of the SACF
This meeting with Ambassador Guivarra was also the presentation of the new Secretary General of the Foundation. Ambassador Rodríguez-Andía y Parada joins the Foundation, as the previous Secretary General, Ambassador Dezcallar, was appointed Ambassador of Spain to Croatia.
This breakfast was a first contact between the Board and the Ambassador, and also it was useful to talk about some of the issues of the next ordinary meeting of the Board to define the next year main lines of activities.