January 14, 2014- Spain needs to invest in high quality education, training, and development as engines to create a strong industry and sustained growth and support the new “economy of knowledge” said Pedro Sánchez, the current Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and likely candidate for Spanish Prime Minister.
Mr. Sánchez spoke to an intimate gathering of McCourt School students and Georgetown faculty at an event sponsored by the McCourt School’s newest student group, the Latin American Policy Association (LAPA).
McCourt School students asked Mr. Sánchez about pressing Spanish political and policy issues including the rise of Podemos, a new leftist and populist party currently polling ahead of PSOE in the upcoming elections. The group also discussed the secessionist movement in Catalonia, and education and economic policy.
Mr. Sánchez met with several high-profile figures during his time in Washington to promote his economic program, including Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund; Luis Alberto Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank, and Jason Furman, Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic.
After the LAPA event, Mr. Sánchez held an informal meeting with Spanish professors and researchers working in Washington, DC to talk about innovation and research and development. They touched on different topics related to the mobility and promotion of Spanish researchers in foreign countries, specifically in the United States, and the need for policies that facilitate the return of these scientists to Spain.