It is both a pleasure and an honor to close this conference, and I would like to begin by thanking those who have made it possible: our Finnish hosts and Business Finland; the Sec.State for Trade, with ICEX and our Economic and Commercial Office in Helsinki; CEOE; and the Spanish Cham-Comm. My thanks also go to all of you for the quality of the discussions over these sessions.
You have spent this time talking about AI, semiconductors and quantum technologies, and you have done so for a good reason: they are no longer technologies of the future. They are already shaping Europe's competitiveness, and they will increasingly determine our capacity to develop and control the technologies on which our economies depend.
That is why, adopting them is not enough: Europe needs the capacity to develop them, to scale them up, and to turn scientific knowledge into industrial capability. This is what technological sovereignty means in practice. And it will not be achieved by any one country alone, but by bringing together the talent, research, investment and businesses that already exist across our continent.
This is where Spain and Finland can make a difference. We start from solid ground: a strong and well-established economic relationship, reflected in our trade and in growing investment ties between our two countries. We have also built significant strengths in areas that are becoming increasingly important for Europe's technological and industrial future. The opportunity now is to bring these strengths closer together, give our bilateral relationship a stronger technological dimension, and make better use of what both countries have developed.
We have good reasons to do so, because our strengths are different, but they fit together.
"...Finland brings scientific excellence and specialized expertise, while Spain contributes a strong industrial base, experience in scaling technologies and businesses, and an established international reach. Together, these strengths create opportunities for cooperation that can reinforce both our bilateral relationship and Europe's technological and industrial capabilities..."
Finland has developed remarkable expertise in science and advanced technologies, particularly in semiconductors and quantum computing. Spain, for its part, is strengthening its position in chip design, photonics, advanced materials and advanced packaging, while consolidating its role in high-performance computing and developing its AI infrastructure, also through European initiatives.
Finland brings scientific excellence and specialized expertise, while Spain contributes a strong industrial base, experience in scaling technologies and businesses, and an established international reach. Together, these strengths create opportunities for cooperation that can reinforce both our bilateral relationship and Europe's technological and industrial capabilities.
This matters because Europe has made clear its strategic priorities. Semi-conductors, AI infrastructure and advanced computing are central to the Union's efforts to strengthen its technological and industrial capabilities. And Spain is part of that effort: it is one of the few member states with two AI factories backed at European level, and it is a candidate to host a new AI giga-factory.
But technology does not advance through infrastructure alone. It also depends on the people who develop it, the research communities that sustain it and the businesses that take it to the market. This is why we need to deepen the connections between universities, research centers, start-ups and tech-labs in both countries. We should build on the mobility that already exists within the EU, while creating more opportunities for researchers, engineers and professionals to work together and for teams to develop joint projects in research and innovation. This way, we can bring together expertise, investment and industrial capabilities around projects with the potential to gain scale in Europe and beyond.
That is why I encourage you to make the most of the relationships built here. I hope you have found new partners, identified areas where your strengths complement each other. So I’m strongly looking forward to hear soon –or even witness− these conversations bearing fruit and becoming concrete and lasting projects.
This is what we should take from this conference: that Spain and Finland have complementary strengths, that both are committed to Europe's technological future, and that there are real possibilities of turning those strengths into deeper cooperation.
Thank you very much.