Canary Islands and Agadir Enhance Bilateral Cooperation
The President of the Canary Islands, **Fernando Clavijo**, is actively fostering social and economic cooperation with Agadir through a bilateral meeting with the Mayor of the Souss Massa Regional Council, **Karim Achengli**. This meeting is part of the second institutional, business, academic, innovation, and sports mission aimed at deepening ties between the two regions. This visit follows the groundwork laid in January when a delegation from the Canary Islands, led by President Clavijo, signed ten collaboration agreements and a memorandum of understanding with the Souss Massa Region. These initiatives are designed to enhance institutional, economic, university-level, scientific, technological, and sports cooperation across the Atlantic.
The upcoming bilateral meeting is set to take place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, featuring key figures from the Canary Islands government, including the Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation, and Culture, **Migdalia Machín**; the Deputy Minister of the Presidency, **Octavio Caraballo**; the Director General for Relations with Africa, **Luis Padilla**; the Rector of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, **Lluís Serra**; and the President of the Canary Confederation of Entrepreneurs, **Pedro Ortega**, along with other representatives involved in the institutional and sectoral agendas of the mission.
Strengthening Economic and Academic Collaborations
The Government of the Canary Islands is making significant strides in solidifying the Atlantic axis with Africa through an official visit from April 26 to 29, 2023, by an institutional delegation from the Souss Massa Region, headed by President Karim Achengli. This delegation comprises over 50 representatives from various sectors, including business, commerce, academia, and sports, and is part of a strategic cooperation plan initiated by the regional government to reinforce stable and long-term relationships with neighboring territories. The collaboration is centered on institutional cooperation, economic development, and the creation of shared opportunities.
The working sessions are a continuation of the efforts launched in January 2025 in Agadir, where the largest Canary Islands delegation to visit this Moroccan region facilitated the signing of ten collaboration agreements and a memorandum of understanding aimed at establishing a strategic relationship grounded in good neighborliness, institutional cooperation, and mutual interests. Three months later, both regions are actively implementing these agreements through a working agenda in the Canary Islands, which underscores their shared goal of creating economic opportunities, promoting knowledge exchange, and developing joint projects that yield tangible impacts in both areas.
According to Deputy Minister Octavio Caraballo, this meeting is crucial for establishing a stable and long-term working relationship with Souss Massa, enabling productive cooperation that results in concrete benefits for both regions. He noted that this relationship extends beyond just institutional boundaries, increasingly encompassing diverse fields such as economic, academic, scientific, and sports sectors, highlighting its comprehensive nature and potential for generating opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.
During the visit, sector-specific and business meetings will take place to identify new collaboration opportunities. Notably, B2B meetings scheduled for Monday afternoon will facilitate networking between Canary and Moroccan businesses, serving as a pivotal tool for strengthening economic relations, attracting investments, and establishing a stable cooperative framework between the two regions. The agenda also includes tours of strategic infrastructures and entities in the archipelago, such as the Port of Las Palmas, the Canary Islands Technology Institute (ITC), and facilities related to water management, innovation, tourism, the primary sector, and higher education, aimed at exchanging experiences and advancing joint projects in areas like blue economy, sustainability, digitalization, and training.
Additionally, the working sessions will encompass discussions related to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, a significant international event shared by the Canary Islands, Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. These discussions are expected to facilitate experience sharing and coordination among territories facing common challenges, exploring collaborative opportunities in facility management, training, and international sports promotion.
Public universities in the Canary Islands are set to play a central role in this initiative, aligning with the promotion of scientific diplomacy and academic cooperation as key pillars of the Canary Islands-Africa Strategy. The objective is to continue enhancing collaboration in research, talent mobility, and knowledge transfer, while also jointly addressing common challenges such as energy transition, water resource management, and the development of more resilient economies.
This visit reflects the Canary Islands government's commitment to consolidating a strategic and stable relationship with the Souss Massa region, following the signing of a joint roadmap in January, which is based on economic complementarity, geographical proximity, and a shared vision of the Atlantic as a space for cooperation, development, and opportunities.
In this manner, the Archipelago reinforces its role as an Atlantic platform between Europe and Africa under the framework of the Canary Islands-Africa Strategy, led by President Clavijo.
As reported by espiral21.com.
