MADRID, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The current vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Roman Escolano, was appointed the new Spanish minister of economy, industry and competitiveness on Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced on his Twitter account.

Escolano is to attend the next cabinet meeting on Friday, the tweet said.

Escolano will replace Luis de Guindos, who was recently appointed as vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Escolano was appointed EIB vice president in September 2014. Prior to this, he was president of Spain's state-owned loan service Official Credit Institute (ICO) between 2012 and 2014, an entity attached to the ministry of economic affairs, industry and competitiveness, aimed at promoting economic activities.

Escolano was also chief economic adviser to former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar between 2000 and 2004.

Escolano takes over as the Spanish economy is recovering from a long financial crisis that seriously hit the country. In 2017, the country's economy grew by 3.1 percent and more than 600,000 jobs were created.