Pedro Sánchez receives the president of Microsoft, which is set to quadruple its investment in Spain to 1.95 billion euros

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, José Luis Escrivá; the Director of the Office of Economic Affairs and G20, Manuel de la Rocha, and the President of Microsoft Spain, Alberto Granados.

This is the multinational technology company's largest investment in Spain to date and will be used mainly to boost the deployment of artificial intelligence infrastructures in Spain in 2024 and 2025, promoting digital innovation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

The president of the Government highlighted Microsoft's contribution to Spain's digital transformation, which includes investments in data centres, R&D and collaboration with the Executive on key issues such as cybersecurity and the development of artificial intelligence tools in the Administration.

Partnership agreements and new data centres

In this regard, they analysed various collaboration agreements between the Government of Spain and Microsoft in the field of artificial intelligence to expand its use in the Public Administration, with generative artificial intelligence solutions and training plans for civil servants, through the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service. Also, the strengthening of national cybersecurity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the National Cryptologic Centre, and of companies and SMEs, together with the National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE).

In addition, the multinational will soon open a Data Centre Cloud Region, located in the Community of Madrid, and has announced that it will build a Data Centre Campus in Aragon for European companies and public entities. These strategic investments by Microsoft in Spain in data centres and R&D, which will be carried out under sustainability criteria, will contribute to turning our country into a hub of interconnectivity and digital infrastructures.

Spain has been developing a clear roadmap over the last few years to drive the country's digital transformation through the Digital Spain Agenda, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan investments and the strengthening of public-private partnerships.

The Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union reached a historic political agreement at the end of 2023 that will enable the first regulatory framework for artificial intelligence worldwide to be reached, after launching the Charter of Digital Rights in 2021, with which Spain has placed itself at the international forefront in the protection of citizens' rights.

Non official translation