What can AI do for government finance ministries? Five minutes with Spain’s Sara Ramos
In this interview, Sara Ramos, senior advisor to the secretary of state in Spain’s Ministry of Finance, shares insights on her career in the civil service.
This is part of a ‘Five minutes’ series featuring participants from this week’s Global Government Finance Summit in Dublin (5-6 June).
What are you most interested in discussing at the Global Government Finance Summit 2024?
All the topics included in the summit are really interesting but I am very curious about the first topic of artificial intelligence as I am not very familiar with it and I would like to understand what our peers are doing in this field.
What more do you want to achieve before you retire?
I would like to pursue two positions in my professional career in the international field. One of them is to work in an international financial institution, such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, and the other is to work as a commercial counsellor in an embassy.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the civil service?
I would recommend that he or she should not be in a hurry to be promoted, and that he or she should spend a minimum amount of time in each position to make the best of it, for both the organisation and the civil servant.
What do you like most about working in the civil service?
What I like most about being a civil servant is working in the service of my country and contributing to improving the quality of life for Spaniards.
If you could introduce one civil service reform, what would it be?
The thing that I like least about being a civil servant is that our career design is not as structured as in the private sector.
Which country’s civil service or which government department or agency are you most inspired by and why?
The miracle of the Celtic tiger, our host, is to be admired. It is a country that when it joined the EU had a GDP per capita below average and is now an example of an economic miracle.
Read more: Advancing homegrown AI: Five minutes with Mihai Cuza from Romania’s Ministry of Finance
Are there any projects or innovations in your country that might be valuable to your peers overseas?
Spain has one of the most modern tax agencies in the world.
What attributes do you most value in people?
Coherence.
If you weren’t a civil servant, what would you be?
Paediatrician or history teacher.
What’s your favourite thing to do at the weekends?
Spending time with my family and friends.
What is your dream holiday destination?
Vietnam.
About GGF reporter
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