The Government of the Azores promoted Monday a meeting between the Government of the Canary Islands and regional social partners in order to identify the potential for export of regional products to that Spanish archipelago.
"This was a very important meeting because it allowed us to identify our export potential, that is, the sectors in which we have comparative advantages in terms of exports. They correspond exactly to those that are the greatest import needs of the Canary Islands, said the Vice-President of the Government.
Sérgio Ávila spoke after the meeting attended by the Councillor for Economy, Industry, Commerce and Knowledge of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pedro Rodríguez, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores, the Azores Agricultural Federation and the Azores Fisheries Federation. This meeting was part of the visit of the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo Batlle, to the archipelago at the invitation of Vasco Cordeiro.
Speaking to journalists, the Vice-President of the Government highlighted the "very positive combination" that results from the fact that the Azores have the capacity to export what the Canaries most need to import.
"Having this clear identification of the products that have these features, it is now important to develop the capacity to coordinate production with consumption," said Sérgio Ávila.
In this regard, this meeting also allowed us to identify the types of support for exports, production and imports, the Vice-President said, adding that the next step will be the promotion of a mission of entrepreneurs from the Canary Islands to the Region in order to promote direct contact with Azorean producers.
Subsequently, the Government will undertake joint efforts with maritime operators, particularly with those made available by the Canary Islands, so that we may find an effective and competitive solution to implement this operation.
"It is this whole path that has now been defined and will be further developed. It is up to both Governments to ensure that large companies headquartered in the Canary Islands visit the Azores in order to contact our producers and, consequently, create the conditions for the export of our products," concluded Sérgio Ávila.