Ukraine and Spain have signed nine agreements: ranging from defence to railway modernisation
During Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Madrid, Ukraine and Spain signed nine bilateral agreements designed to lay the foundations for a long-term partnership in the fields of defence, the economy, infrastructure and diplomacy.
According to the Office of the President, the agreements were concluded following a meeting between the Head of State and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
According to Zelenskyy, new defence agreements have been established between the countries, including between private companies, and there has been progress in economic and infrastructure cooperation. He specifically mentioned decisions relating to the railway and emphasised that humanitarian and diplomatic cooperation between Kyiv and Madrid is also continuing.
Among the intergovernmental and inter-agency documents signed is an agreement on technical and financial cooperation between the governments of Ukraine and Spain. It establishes the legal framework for the implementation of programmes and projects in Ukraine with financial support from the Spanish side. The document also defines forms of assistance, including the transfer of new technologies, equipment and the provision of consultancy services.
Separately, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding between the Ministries of Defence of Ukraine and Spain on joint production. It provides for the joint development and production of integrated defence systems, as well as the exchange of technologies, knowledge and experience. In addition, the document covers the conduct of defence research and the development of new systems.
Another set of agreements concerns railway infrastructure. In particular, Ukrzaliznytsia and TRIA INGENIERÍA have signed a contract as part of the infrastructure restoration and modernisation programme, for which Spain allocated €200 million last November. As part of this project, an innovative bogie for freight wagons with automatic gauge adjustment is to be developed. The aim is for this technology to speed up the delivery of Ukrainian export goods across Europe.
A grant agreement for non-repayable funding was also signed between Ukrzaliznytsia and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial. This is necessary for the practical launch of the project to introduce automatic gauge-changing technology for freight wagons.
Separately, Ukraine and Spain agreed to deepen cooperation in diplomatic education. A corresponding memorandum of understanding was signed by the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the School of Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain. The document provides for the exchange of experience, training programmes and scientific research.
A further four agreements were concluded between Ukrainian and Spanish companies. The Spanish group Sener signed cooperation agreements with the Ukrainian defence company Fire Point, the Kyiv State Design Bureau “Luch” and the research and production enterprise “Radionix”.
In addition, the Spanish company Escribano signed a cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems, Skyeton.
Thus, the package of documents signed in Madrid covers several areas at once – from defence production and technological exchange to infrastructure restoration, logistics modernisation and diplomatic training.
