“The south of Portugal and the south of Spain will be the economic reference of Europe, in the next 30 years, due to the climate and geostrategic positions” and, in this context, “we want to value everything that we have that is positive”, highlighted the president of the regional government, Juan Manuel Moreno.

The Spanish official was speaking to Lusa agency in Évora, where he visited the works of a new building in the expansion phase of the Alentejo Science and Technology Park (PACT).

The Infante D. Henrique Center will be created in this building, as part of a cross-border cooperation project that brings together the universities of Évora, Algarve (Faro) and Seville (Spain), as well as PACT and Martrain (Faro).

Based on the creation of the University Innovation Center and developed by the Euroregion Alentejo-Algarve-Andalusia (EUROAAA), the project involves an investment of 21.33 million euros and is 75% financed by the Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP).

The initiative, which is ongoing and runs until the end of this year, aims to stimulate research and development in the Logistics, Industry 4.0 and Materials and Sustainability sectors, among the universities and knowledge centers involved, and also putting this innovation at the service of companies.

Pioneering

According to the president of the Junta de Andalusia, this project “is pioneering” and “avant-garde”, similar to others promoted within EUROAAA.

“What we want is to add technology, innovation and avant-garde to the natural talent that exists in Alentejo, Algarve, Andalusia, to produce on a European scale”, he said.

Thus demonstrating that “this cross-border cooperation project can be an element of dynamism for the local economy” and, “at the same time, of the European economy”, so that “investors focus” on EUROAAA, he underlined.

For his part, the president of the Alentejo Coordination and Regional Development Commission (CCDR), António Ceia da Silva, highlighted that cross-border cooperation is “increasingly important” and, within EUROAAA, “there have been projects for some time. of effective cooperation”, in several areas.