The Atlantic Arc Chambers of Commerce met today at the Hotel Pazo Los Escudos in Vigo, with a broad representation of institutions and companies from the Atlantic region. The event also included the participation of the Mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero; the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet; and the Commissioner of the Atlantic Corridor, José Antonio Sebastián.
This meeting, framed within the IV Forum of the Atlantic Arc Chambers of Commerce, aims to highlight the importance of collaboration between chambers, institutions, and companies in the Atlantic region to address the shared risks facing the region, such as the loss of competitiveness, territorial attractiveness, and influence capacity.
Aware of the significant role they can play due to their nature, their representation of general interests, and their proven ability to implement actions to improve the competitiveness of their territories and companies, sixteen Chambers of Commerce, grouped in the Atlantic Arc Chambers alliance, also seek the support and engagement of institutions and companies in this initiative, particularly in priority areas affecting the entire region, such as the creation of the Atlantic Arc macro-region; infrastructure development; green hydrogen; offshore wind energy; and tourism.
The opening session included interventions from the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Pontevedra, Vigo, and Vilagarcía de Arousa, José García Costas; the General Director of Sabadell Gallego and Deputy General Director of Banco Sabadell, Pablo Junceda; the Special State Delegate at the Vigo Free Zone Consortium, David Regades; the President of the Pontevedra Provincial Council, Luis López; the Galician Regional Minister of Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana; and the Mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero.
Subsequently, a round table titled ‘The Atlantic Arc Macro-region’ was held, moderated by the Rector of the University of Vigo, Manuel Reigosa. Participants included the Deputy Director General for External Action and Cross-Border Cooperation of the Xunta de Galicia, Xosé Lago; the representative of the Presidency of the Atlantic Arc Commission and Director of European Affairs of the Basque Government, Mikel Antón; the Executive Secretary of the Atlantic Arc Commission, Elise Wattrelot; the Vice President of the Portuguese Business Association (AEP), Luís Ceia; and the Director General for Regional Model Strategy and Investment Attraction of the Government of Asturias, Nuria Castaño.
The forum continued with the presentation ‘The Camino de Santiago as a Structuring Element’ by the representative of CCI Nouvelle Aquitaine, Jacques Faurens. Then, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Oviedo, Carlos Paniceres, acted as moderator of the table ‘Atlantic Arc Transport Infrastructure’, where the following shared their perspectives: the Minister of Development, Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment of the Government of Cantabria, Roberto Media; the Minister of Development, Local Cooperation and Fire Prevention of the Government of Asturias, Alejandro Calvo; the Commissioner of the Atlantic Corridor of the Spanish Government, José Antonio Sebastián; the Minister of Presidency, Justice, and Sports of the Xunta de Galicia, Diego Calvo; and the Minister of Mobility and Digital Transformation of the Government of Castilla y León, José Luis Sanz Merino.
After a break, a new table titled ‘New Energies. Green Hydrogen’ was held, moderated by the President of the Vigo Port Authority, Carlos Botana, with the participation of the Territorial Director of Ence in Galicia, Antonio Casal; the Innovation and Technological Development Manager of Enagás and Coordinator of the Hydrogen Technology Observatory, Igor Pagazaurtundúa; the President of the Bilbao Chamber, Deputy CEO of Petronor and President of the Basque Hydrogen Corridor, José Ignacio Zudaire; the Project Director of the Vigo Free Zone Consortium, Laura Rivas; and the CEO of Reganosa, Rodrigo Díaz Ibarra.
The table ‘New Energies. Offshore Wind’ was moderated by the CEO of MET España, Ángel Crespo, and included the opinions of the Head of the Energy Division of the Emenasa Group, Manuel Solla; the Head of Coordination of Offers and Commercial Intelligence of Navantia Seanergies, Yanai Vieites; the Director General of the Wind Business Association, Juan Virgilio Márquez; and the COO of Saitec Offshore, David Carrascosa.
The closing of the forum featured interventions from the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Pontevedra, Vigo, and Vilagarcía de Arousa, José García Costas; the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet; the Commissioner of the Atlantic Corridor, José Antonio Sebastián; the Minister of Presidency, Justice, and Sports of the Xunta de Galicia, Diego Calvo; and the Mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero.
Technical Session
On the first day of the Forum, held yesterday, the Chambers of Commerce forming the alliance shared progress in areas such as the Transport and Mobility Monitoring Table of the Spanish Government; the initiative around wine tourism with the Camino de Santiago as the main axis; and initiatives in the field of the hydrogen corridor and renewable energies.
They also updated the situation and proposed new actions for the five established priority challenges: Connectivity and Influence Capacity; Diversification and Entrepreneurship; Sustainability, Innovation and Internationalization; Demographic Challenge; and Talent: Attractive Territory. Another action studied was the inclusion of new Chambers of Commerce from the territories forming the Atlantic Arc.
The forum included representatives from the Chambers of Commerce of A Coruña; Álava; Avilés; Bilbao; Burgos; Cantabria; Gijón; Gipuzkoa; Lugo; Nouvelle Aquitaine; Oviedo; Pontevedra, Vigo, and Vilagarcía de Arousa; Santiago de Compostela; Torrelavega; and Tui, as well as the Portuguese Business Association, with interventions from the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Pontevedra, Vigo, and Vilagarcía, José García Costas; the President of the Bilbao Chamber, José Ignacio Zudaire; the representative of the Presidency of the Atlantic Arc Commission and Director of European Affairs of the Basque Government, Mikel Antón; and the Director General of Commerce and Consumer Affairs of the Xunta de Galicia, Gabriel Alén.
About the Atlantic Arc Chambers
The Chambers of Commerce of Northern Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Burgos, Navarra, the Basque Country, and Nouvelle Aquitaine signed in Bilbao, in June 2023, the Declaration of the Atlantic Arc Chambers of Commerce, aiming to create inter-chamber and inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms to work jointly on the economic, social, and environmental challenges faced by the regions composing the Atlantic Arc. Since this first conference, two more have been held, in Porto and Oviedo, in February and July 2024 respectively, advancing the identification of common interest topics, the preparation 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, common to all territories:
- Transport and Intermodality
- Promotion of the Atlantic rail corridor
- Support for the intermodality and connectivity of the Atlantic Arc Ports
- Hydrogen Corridor and Renewable Energies
- Development of the hydrogen corridor
- Offshore wind energy
- The Camino de Santiago as a Structuring Element
- Wine tourism
- Leisure, nature, and wellness activities
The Atlantic Arc Chambers aim to generate synergies around these areas of work to transform the territory and make it more competitive, sustainable, dynamic, open and connected, as well as more attractive with a higher quality of life for its citizens.