President of the Government of the Canary Islands visits the Azores at the invitation of Vasco Cordeiro
The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo Batlle, begins Sunday a two-day visit to the Azores at the invitation of the President of the Azorean Government, Vasco Cordeiro, during which both governments will sign a Joint Declaration. The visit aims to strengthen relations between both regions in areas such as air transport, scientific cooperation and European issues.
Fernando Clavijo Batlle arrives in Ponta Delgada in the early afternoon of Sunday and will then visit, accompanied by Vasco Cordeiro, the Pico Vermelho Geothermal Power Plant, where he will become acquainted with the electricity production from renewable sources in the Azores and, in particular, on the island of São Miguel. As for the latter, it is estimated that about half of the electricity produce will be of geothermal origin by 2019.
Also on this day, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands visits the Gorreana Tea Factory, which began its activity in 1883, and the Furnas Monitoring and Research Centre, which will highlight the project aimed at the protection and recovery of the São Miguel's hydrographic basins.
The second day of this visit begins with a meeting between Vasco Cordeiro and Fernando Clavijo Batlle at Santana Palace in Ponta Delgada, followed by a meeting between the Governments of the Azores and the Canary Islands.
Air transport, namely connectivity in Macaronesia, scientific cooperation, maritime economy, creation of the AIR Centre and participation in the International Conference on Oceans are some of themes under analysis at the meeting.
It will also address other issues of interest to both regions at local and European level, such as the preparation of the Cohesion Policy for the post-2020 period, the Macaronesia Summit or the next Conference of Presidents of Outermost regions, during which the Canary Islands will take over the rotating presidency of this body.
At the end of the meeting, both government will sign the Joint Declaration at Santana Palace.
During the afternoon, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands visits Arquipélago- Contemporary Arts Centre in Ribeira Grande, where will meet with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores, the Azores Agricultural Federation and the Azores Fisheries Federation. He will then return to Ponta Delgada to visit the Centre for Information and Seismovolcanic Surveillance of the Azores (CIVISA) of the University of the Azores.