The Canary Islands and Cape Verde consider it essential to resume air links between the two in the framework of the European territorial cooperation programme Interreg Mac 2021 – 2027, according to agreements signed
The agreements were signed by the President of the Canary Islands Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Cape Verdean Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, during the 6th high-level meeting held in the Spanish archipelago.
Ángel Víctor Torres said it was “essential” to recover the air links between the two archipelagos, noting that, among other things, there are about 60 Canarian companies present in Cape Verde, the largest presence in Africa.
The European programme’s traditional partners are the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde, Mauritania and Senegal and it has boosted its external dimension since last year by integrating four new countries, namely Ghana, Ivory Coast, Gambia and Sao Tome and Principe.
Research and its transfer to the business community, support for small and medium enterprises in their commitment to the green and blue economy are the priorities of Mac 21 – 27, according to information from the Canary press.
The agreements signed between the two archipelagos also cover areas such as renewable energies, employment, blue economy, digitalisation, public and private business exchanges, gender equality and professional training.
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According to official information, the high-level meeting allowed the two archipelagos to address the “excellent relations”, but also to ensure the continuity of joint projects and outline new areas of action “for a more sustainable economic and social development”.
The pandemic and the difficulties that the Canary Islands are going through because of the volcanic eruption of Cumbre Vieja were also issues addressed by the representatives of the two archipelagos.
Recalling the eruption on the Cape Verdean island of Fogo, between the end of 2014 and early 2015, Ángel Víctor Torres said he hoped that the experience of rebuilding the affected areas in Cape Verde would be used in the Canary Islands.
For his part, Ulisses Correia e Silva highlighted the importance of the summit and stressed the fact that the two archipelagos are working towards “more resilient and sustainable economies”.
“We share the same challenges, both from the point of view of climate and green economy, the training of talent and entrepreneurship for the generation of opportunities through digital transformation and all the efforts of investment generation”.
Also as part of the summit, the Canary Islands television (RTVC) and its Cape Verdean counterpart (TCV) signed a cooperation protocol for sharing content.
