The Minister of Economy, Finance, and Employment, Rocío Albert, accompanied by the Director of Invest in Madrid, Luis Socías, and the Director of Economy and Industry, Jaime Martínez, carried out an institutional visit to Italy to attract new investments to the region, focusing on high value-added sectors such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and automotive.
The agenda included an intensive series of events with company representatives, business visits, and institutional meetings:
- Institutional meeting with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Italy, through which Minister Albert presented to Italian business leaders the Community of Madrid’s policies of incentivized taxation and institutional stability, which have made it the country’s leading economy, contributing almost 20% of Spain’s GDP and leading in business creation and employment.
- Visit to the headquarters of Rovi Biotech, a Spanish pharmaceutical company based in Madrid, which generates over €40 million in Italy and employs more than 50 people.
- Visit to the Milan headquarters of Italfarmaco following the announcement of €10 million by the pharmaceutical company for a new production line in Alcobendas. During the meeting, Albert highlighted that the Madrid Region receives half of Italian investment in Spain—one out of every two euros—and over €2.2 billion since 2019, coinciding with the start of President Díaz Ayuso’s first term.
- Meeting with the Deputy Secretary of International Relations of Lombardy to strengthen relations between the Madrid Region and this key European region.
- Visit to the headquarters of Italtel in Milan, where the Minister emphasized the Community of Madrid’s commitment to attracting Italian investment in telecommunications to position the region as Southern Europe’s digital hub.
- Visit to the headquarters of the multinational automotive company IVECO in Turin, where Albert highlighted that “transport and automotive is a fundamental industry in the Madrid Region, with major companies such as IVECO, Bosch, and DHL.” Thanks to these companies, the logistics sector’s turnover exceeds €38 billion in the Madrid Region, more than 26% of the national total.
- Meeting with Andrea Tronzano, Minister of Economic Development, Finance, and Budget of the Piedmont region, to strengthen trade ties, especially in mobility, automotive, and the internationalization of Madrid-based companies.
- Visit to the headquarters of Thales Alenia Space in Turin, where opportunities in the aerospace sector for companies from the Madrid Region were discussed. It was highlighted that Thales already employs 450 professionals in Tres Cantos and that Madrid is a leader in the aerospace industry, accounting for 53.7% of all Spain. The meeting also addressed opportunities arising from the upcoming merger of the space activities of Thales, Airbus, and Leonardo into a joint venture with 25,000 employees and an annual turnover of €6.5 billion.
The regional government continues to work on showcasing the strengths of the Madrid Region and opening new channels for foreign investment.
Historically, Italy has been one of the main investors in the Madrid Region, contributing over €26.8 billion since 1993, representing 70% of the total in Spain. The presence of Italian companies generated more than 32,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2023, demonstrating their strong integration into the regional economy.