Morocco and the Canary Islands are working on the maritime line that will connect Tarfaya and Fuerteventura
The Canarian autonomous government continues its work to reopen the maritime links between the archipelago and Tarfaya through a joint work agenda with the Moroccan delegation, which is visiting the Canary Islands.
Both the Moroccan and the Canary Islands authorities focused on the restoration of the maritime line, describing it as a strategic act that will serve to increase the already good ties between the Canary Islands and the Kingdom of Morocco. The reopening will not only sweeten trade and economic relations, but will unite and facilitate the cultures of both sides to grow and enrich.
The administrative authorities of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, the Delegation of the Government of the State of the Canary Islands, port representatives of the archipelago and the State of Morocco, the Chamber of Commerce of Fuerteventura and representatives of the local business environment will be the participants of this meeting.
The overcoming of the 95 kilometers that separate Tarfaya from Fuerteventura will mean important economic development opportunities for both regions.
Among the attendees, the presence of Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canary Islands, the secretary general of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics of Morocco, Khalid Cherkaoui, the president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Lola García, the consul general of Morocco in the Canary Islands, Fatiha El Kamouri, the head of the Maritime Transport division, Najib Karkoui, the director of regulation of Activities and Operations of the National Ports Agency of Morocco, Anes El Oulalia, the commander of the Port of El Aaiún, Mustapha Lhamouz, and the maritime captain of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Antonio Conde.
The meeting will begin with a visit to the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas. There the delegation will be received by the director of the Port Authority, Beatriz Calzada. Then you will tour the areas and facilities of Hamilton and Cia and the Newport Group. Afterwards, the delegation will travel to Tenerife to meet with Clavijo, before going to Fuerteventura to visit Puerto del Rosario and hold working meetings with the Fuerteventura City Council, Chambers of Commerce and other public and private organizations.
The diversity of organizations and activities and the complexity of some of them require maximum coordination, an aspect clearly supported in this session.
"The potential commercial activity on the island will change the way we understand trade with Africa”
The connection with Morocco is a fundamental pillar for the economy of the Canary Islands. This was announced by the Director of Institutional Relations of the Newport Group, one of the promoters, together with Hamilton and Cia of the Port of Tarfaya Canarias S.A., Blas Trujillo, in an interview for Noticias Fuerteventura.
“It is important to visualize the opportunity that is opening up and the possibilities of changing, at least a little, the economic sense of an island like Fuerteventura that finds no other socio-economic model than tourism”, Blas Trujillo
Among the keys to the consummation of the new maritime route is its financial viability, its sustainability and the low cost that its opening would entail. For both ports it will be a great boost in their commercial and industrial development strategies in the region.
In addition, the possibility of it being part of a future trans-Mediterranean transport network to be developed within the framework of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. Likewise, tourism will be developed through the generation of a large flow of excursions to the Moroccan enclave.
In this sense, the possibilities offered by this new route to redirect the existing cargo flows from the south of Morocco to Europe through the ports of the Canary Islands are increasing. This means improving the position of the archipelago in the future to strengthen the role of the Canary Islands as a logistics area of the African continent in front of Europe and the United States and to strengthen the island as a tricontinental platform.
The integration of the Canary Islands into the Moroccan economy as a platform to guide the flows of goods between the four regions of southern Morocco is one of the aspects that the insular administration expects with the reopening of the line that will connect the Port of Tarfaya and the Port of Rosario.
