General Abrial recently visited Spain to share their views on Smart Defence.

During this visit, he had the opportunity to meet the Spanish Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenés, that had been newly appointed in last December.

The Minister expressed his satisfaction on the work made by General Abrial as Special representative for Smart Defence. He also reaffirmed his full support for NATO Secretary General efforts to take Smart Defence forward as a long term strategy and that it is intended to change mindsets and the way NATO is doing business to maintain Alliance capabilities.

The new minister has a wide experience in the Armament area, having been posted in several important multinational Defence Industry companies.

After this meeting, General Abrial held an office call with the newly appointed Spanish Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral General Garcia Sanchez and they discussed the way Spain can contribute to NATO Smart Defense initiative and how she could take the lead in some specific projects.

Both meetings were fruitful, and Spain showed its full support to SACT’s work. Finally, in appreciation of General Abrial's permanent support to the Spanish Center of Excellence against Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), certified last year by ACT, Minister Morenés presented General Abrial with the Navy Cross of Merit, the highest peacetime decoration in the Spanish Armed Forces.

Photo 1: Spanish Minister of Defence, D. Pedro Morenés Eulate presenting the award
to General Abrial during the Minister Office Call in the Ministry of Defence.
Photo 2: Working session in the Spanish Defence Staff; from left to right General Abrial and his Executive Assistant,
Admiral General Garcia Sanchez, the Chief of Joint Staff and the Chief of Plans and Strategy Division.