On Tuesday, 3 February, the President of SRAP, A/Prof. Ángel López-Sánchez (Macquarie University), the Vice-President of SRAP, A/Prof Marian Vidal-Fernández (University of Sydney), and SRAP Honorary Presidents Prof Luis Salvador-Carulla (University of Canberra) and Prof Sergio León-Saval (University of Sydney) held a working lunch in Sydney with the Ambassador of Spain to Australia, Esther Monterrubio Villar, and Luis Fonseca, Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Spanish Government. The main purpose was to brief Luis Fonseca on SRAP’s activities, with particular emphasis on scientific diplomacy, the Malaspina Awards, collaboration with EURAXESS, and recent initiatives developed by the association.
During the meeting, the discussion highlighted the July 2025 meeting with Signe Ratso of the European Commission, as well as the sending of the SRAP letter of 23 October 2025 in response to the Australian Government consultation on the possible association of Australia to the Horizon Europe programme.
This briefing took place ahead of Luis Fonseca’s meetings with his Australian counterpart, where strategic issues of Spain–Australia research cooperation were addressed.
SRAP emphasized two key priorities: on the one hand, the importance of Australia joining Horizon Europe, particularly to enable Australian researchers to participate in international consortia; and on the other hand, the need to advance toward the signing of a bilateral research agreement between Spain and Australia, similar to those already existing with other European countries such as France, Germany, or Italy. Both points are considered essential to strengthen scientific cooperation and enhance the international impact of research developed between the two countries.