Basque Country Dec 03, 2015

Endless sources of collaboration: Bavaria and the Basque Country

Discussions on a political and technical level on 18th November 2015 paved the way for future collaborations. The technical discussions on Industry 4.0, joint (EU) research projects and professional training brought together company and business representatives from both regions.

Invest in Bavaria is always particularly pleased when companies that have come to Bavaria have settled in well, feel at home and are able to operate successfully. In 2014, Invest in Bavaria assisted in a very special case: its Basque counterpart, the business promotion company of the Basque government, SPRI, opened its first office in a German-speaking region in Munich. One year on, Bavarian Minister Ilse Aigner welcomed her Basque ministerial colleague Dr Arantza Tapia at the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs for a meeting to expand the collaboration between these two strong economic regions.
 

Bavarians and Basques: growing together


lthough the economies of both regions are performing above average, it would not do for them to rest on their laurels. Scrutinising the current status and optimising existing processes would be a smarter option. Bavaria can still learn a thing or two from the Basque cluster structure. In turn, Dr Tapia plans to follow Bayern Digital's example in driving digitization in the Basque Country forward.
 

Closer collaboration agreed


The two parties agreed to promote innovation in both regions through closer cooperation between the Basque science, technology and innovation network and various Bavarian research institutions, such as the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and the Technischen Universität München.
Following the private meeting between the ministers, all other members of the Basque delegation had the opportunity to talk to their Bavarian partners and sound out possible collaborations. Representatives from key business sectors, such as automotive, aerospace and trades, took advantage of face-to-face meetings to gather initial ideas and discuss possible approaches.
 

First Basque companies already successfully settled in Bavaria


The companies that have successfully moved to Bavaria are living proof that the SPRI's work also benefits the state. For example, the Basque industrial company RPK opened a branch in Munich early this year and clearly feels very much at home.

We look forward to welcoming many more Basque companies and supporting them in the settlement process.
We hope that this very special collaboration will continue to pay off for both sides in the future.