The Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander hosted today the first day of the 6th ARCHAM Forum, a meeting that follows in the footsteps of those held in Bilbao, Porto, Oviedo, Vigo, and Brussels. Representatives of the Chambers of Commerce from northern Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Burgos, the Basque Country, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine gathered with the aim of advancing strategic coordination across the territory, strengthening their joint positioning, and working on shared lines of action.
The day began with a technical session addressing the progress made in the various areas of work established in previous meetings, aimed at strengthening mechanisms for inter-chamber and inter-institutional cooperation and tackling common priority challenges: Connectivity and Influence Capacity; Diversification and Entrepreneurship; Sustainability, Innovation and Internationalization; Demographic Challenge; and Talent: Attractive Territory.
Thus, the session focused on promoting the Atlantic rail corridor; supporting intermodality and connectivity of Atlantic Arc ports; activities linked to wine tourism; leisure, nature, and wellness activities; the development of the Hydrogen Corridor; inclusion in the European Hydrogen Infrastructure Map; and the promotion of marine renewable energy.
The conclusions drawn from the technical session were subsequently presented at a meeting attended by the presidents of the Chambers that are part of ARCHAM.
Meeting with institutions
The 6th ARCHAM Forum will continue tomorrow at the Centro Botín in Santander with a meeting that will bring together institutional and business representatives at a decisive moment for the macro-region within the European context. The aim is to strengthen the economic, industrial, and logistical weight of the Atlantic regions and to advance a common agenda in strategic areas such as infrastructure, connectivity, energy, and business competitiveness.
Participants in this second day of the 6th ARCHAM Forum will include the President of Cantabria, María José Sáenz de Buruaga, and the President of the Basque Country and President of the Atlantic Arc Commission, Imanol Pradales. Other speakers will include, among others, the Government Commissioner for the Atlantic Corridor, José Antonio Sebastián; the Mayor of Santander, Gema Igual; Cantabria’s Regional Ministers of Economy and Development, Luis Ángel Agüeros and Roberto Media, respectively; the Executive Secretary of the European Commission of the Atlantic Arc, Élise Wattrelot; the President of Cámara España, José Luis Bonet; the President of the Chamber of Cantabria, Tomás Dasgoas; and the President of the Chamber of Bilbao, José Ignacio Zudaire.
Representatives from already established macro-regions—Alpine, Baltic, and Danube—will also participate in the meeting, along with the President of the Santander Port Authority, César Díaz; the Northern Zone Director at Boluda Corporación Marítima, Daniel Berasategui; Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group and Global Head of Energy, Iván Martén; Director of Stakeholders Management and Public Affairs at EDP, Yolanda Fernández Montes; and Strategy & Planning Director at Enagás, Mayte Nonay.
About ARCHAM
The Chambers of Commerce of northern Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Burgos, Navarra, the Basque Country, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine signed the Declaration of the Chambers of Commerce of the Atlantic Arc in Bilbao in June 2023, with the aim of creating mechanisms for inter-chamber and inter-institutional cooperation to jointly address the economic, social, and environmental challenges faced by the regions of the Atlantic Arc. Since this first conference, five more have been held—in Bilbao, Porto, Oviedo, Vigo, and Brussels—advancing the identification of shared areas of interest, the drafting of a strategic document, and the inclusion of public administrations and other institutions in the project. The strategic document establishes three priority areas of work of common interest to all territories:
- Transport and Intermodality
- Promotion of the Atlantic rail corridor
- Support for intermodality and connectivity of Atlantic Arc ports
- Hydrogen Corridor and Renewable Energy
- Development of the hydrogen corridor
- Offshore wind energy
- The Camino de Santiago as a unifying hallmark
- Wine tourism
- Leisure, nature, and wellness activities
The Chambers of the Atlantic Arc aim to generate synergies around these areas of work to transform the territory and make it more competitive, more sustainable, more dynamic, more open and connected; as well as more attractive and with a higher quality of life for its citizens.