The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, Rodrigo Oliveira, leads the Azorean delegation, made up of several social partners, who will take part in the 3rd Forum on Outermost Region to take place in Brussels from September 30 to October 1.

Rodrigo Oliveira will speak on behalf of the President of the Government at the opening session of this event, which will be attended by the Presidents of ORs and the Regional Director for Regional Policy, Walter Deffaa, on behalf of the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn.

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, will close the morning works of the first day of the Forum.

The invitation made by the Government of the Azores to the social partners took place following the call of the European Commission to the Outermost Regions, urging them to promote the participation of economic, academic and civil society sectors in the Forum on Outermost Regions.

In order to fulfil this goal, the Azorean delegation comprises the following members: the Dean of the University of the Azores and the Presidents of the Association of Municipalities, the Fisheries Federation, the Tourism Association, the Building Industry and Public Works Association, Electricity Company of the Azores, Society for the Business Development of the Azores and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada.

The Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Horta, the Secretary-General of the Chamber of Commerce of Angra do Heroísmo, the Coordinator of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (GCTP/Açores), the President of the General Union of Workers - Azores (UGT/Açores) and a representative of the Chairman of the Board of the S. Miguel Agricultural Association are also part of the Azorean delegation.

The Forum comprises three thematic sessions, the first of which will address the themes of employment, training and social innovation and will feature the participation of the Regional Directorate for Employment and Vocational Training, Ilda Batista.

The second session will focus on the use of endogenous resources of ORs, considering its sustainable development sectors such as tourism, research, energy, agriculture and fisheries. In turn, the third session will address the external context of ORs, particularly with regard to the impact of various international agreements on the economy of these regions.

The delegation of the Azorean Government, led by the Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, also comprises the Regional Directors for Planning and Structural Funds, Employment and Vocational Training, Fisheries, Science and Technology, and Rural Development.

The Forum on Outermost regions is held every two years in Brussels. It was the result of a proposal made by the Regional Government of the Azores in 2008 at the Conference "Future of the European Strategy for Outermost Regions." The proposal was welcomed by the EU Commission in its communication "Outermost regions: an asset for Europe" and reinforced in the conclusions of the European Council in December 2009.

This Forum aims to enhance the visibility of ORs with various European leaders as well as to provide the representatives of these Regions with an opportunity to inform European officials about the situation of their region and specific challenges.

The Forum on Outermost Regions gathers five hundred participants from various European institutions and bodies from the nine outermost regions of EU Member States (in particular from the three states with Outermost Regions - Portugal, Spain and France), scholars, businesspeople and the civil society.

The third edition of the Forum, held under the theme "9 Regions at the heart of Europe of today and tomorrow" takes place in the context of renovation of the members that make up EU institutions, especially the Commission, whose term is due to begin in November, and the European Parliament, after the elections of last May.