The Foundation’s Board of Trustees met to present the 2026 Action Plan, review the Foundation’s activities during the second half of the year, and discuss the latest developments in the bilateral relationship
The Spain–Australia Council Foundation held its final Board of Trustees meeting of the year on 15 December 2025 at the ACCIONA Campus. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the activities carried out throughout the year and to define the main lines of action for 2026.
The meeting was chaired by Joaquín Mollinedo, Director of Institutional Relations, Communication and Brand at ACCIONA and President of the Spain–Australia Council Foundation. Luis Fonseca, Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, attended the meeting and shared his perspective on the current state of the bilateral relationship between Spain and Australia and its future outlook. The Director General for Economic Diplomacy, Jordi Colgan, also took part, addressing the economic and cooperation opportunities between the two countries.
During the meeting, the Board reviewed the main activities carried out in the second half of 2025, including the first edition of the RMIT Study Tour in Spain, the seventh edition of the Australian Leaders Program, focused on the media sector, and the 11th Australia–Spain Research Forum (SRAP), devoted to the impact of artificial intelligence.
The Board also addressed institutional matters, including the incorporation of the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, into the Board of Trustees of the FCEA, and the handover in the General Secretariat with the appointment of Ambassador María Victoria González Román as the new Secretary General and Trustee of the Foundation.
One of the key items on the agenda was the presentation and approval of the 2026 Action Plan, which builds on the Foundation’s well-established programmes and promotes new avenues of collaboration in strategic areas such as sustainability, the environment and climate change, technological innovation, academic research, training, and business and institutional exchanges.
With this meeting, the Spain–Australia Council Foundation brings to a close a year of intense activity and lays the foundations for 2026, with a focus on deepening mutual understanding, generating new opportunities, and strengthening the bilateral relationship between Spain and Australia, positioning itself as a platform for connection between public administrations, companies, universities and centres of knowledge in both countries.
List of attendees
ACCIONA ▪️ Joaquín Mollinedo, President of SACF
ACCIONA ▪️José Eugenio Salarich, Director of International Relations
ACCIONA ▪️ Gabriela Sebastián de Erice, Director of External Relations
Cámara de Comercio de España ▪️ Jaime Montalvo, International Director
Casa Asia ▪️ José Pintor, Director General
FCE-Australia ▪️ María Victoria González Román, Secretary General
FCE-Australia ▪️ Vega Yubero, Director
FCE-Australia ▪️ Raffaella Ferreccio, Analyst
Grupo ACS ▪️ Luis Cellier, Director of Institutional Relations and Markets
Grupo ACS ▪️ María José Rodríguez González, Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development ACS Digital & Energy
IBERDROLA ▪️ Celia Roldán, Manager of International Affairs
INSTITUTO CERVANTES ▪️ Philippe Robertet, Deputy Director of International Relations
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación ▪️ Luis Fonseca, Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación ▪️ Jordi Colgan Perera, Director General for Economic Diplomacy
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) ▪️ Marta Fernández Bertos, Executive Director
Ayuntamiento de Madrid ▪️ José Francisco Herrera Antonaya, Director General for International Relations
CaixaBank ▪️Joan Rosás, Director of International Institutional Relations
INDRA ▪️ María Ángeles Pérez Espinosa, Director of Public Affairs
Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa ▪️ María Aguado Ramírez, Deputy Assistant Director General for Europe, Asia and Oceania
Universidad de Salamanca ▪️ Ana María Manzanas, Full Professor, Department of English Philology
