The Regional Secretary for Economy highlighted in Ponta Delgada on Friday the large investment made by the Government in the organisation of gastronomic events that promote the Region abroad.

Speaking on behalf of the President of the Government at the opening of "Wine in Azores 2012," Luísa Schanderl considered this initiative, which is already in its third edition, as fundamental for the promotion of products and as a space of reference in the dissemination of Azorean cuisine.

According to her, this event is not limited to the stimulus it can provide to the tourism sector; it also showcases regional products and contributes to the generation of wealth in other areas such as fisheries and horticultural production.

In this context, the government official stressed that the Azorean Government has been developing in recent years a set of mechanisms intended to support the production, marketing and transport of products abroad.

The presence of the Azores in initiatives such as SISAB - International Trade Fair for Portuguese Food and Beverage, the development of the Safe Quality programme or the promotional campaign jointly organised with Legal Seafoods in New England are some of the initiatives promoted by the Regional Government, mentioned the Regional Secretary for the Economy.

For these reasons, Luísa Schanderl stressed that Wine in Azores has earned the support of the regional public entities since its creation. This initiative allows Azorean businesspeople to become acquainted with new realities and contributes to the improvement of the regional restaurant sector abroad.