Portugal and Spain signed this Wednesday, at the 35th Portuguese-Spanish Summit, eleven cooperation instruments, including agreements, memorandums of understanding and declarations of intent in areas such as water, the environment or culture.

The signing ceremony of the agreements lasted less than 15 minutes and was attended by some of the more than 20 ministers from the two countries present at the Iberian summit, which is being held this Wednesday in Faro.

First of all, they were signed two agreements for the safety of navigation and recreational navigation in the international section of the Guadiana River and another related to fishing in the same river.

Previously announced agreements were also signed for the construction of an international bridge over the Sever River, between the towns of Montalvão-Nisa (Portugal) and Cedillo (Spain) and another for the construction of an international bridge over the Guadiana River, between the towns of Alcoutim (Portugal) and Sanlúcar de Guadiana (Spain).

The agreements reached at the end of September on the flows of the Guadiana and Tagus rivers, between the Ministers of the Environment of Portugal and Spain in Aranjuez, were translated at the summit into the signing of a political declaration between both Ministries.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy of Portugal and the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain also signed. a memorandum of understanding on the conservation of natural heritage.

On the other hand, a memorandum of understanding was signed based on the Magalhães-Elcano Prize.

“Continuing the celebrations of the V Centenary of the Fernão de Magalhães and Juan Sebastián Elcano Ring Road, the two countries, committed to keeping alive the memory and meaning of this unique feat, establish the Portuguese-Spanish “Magalhães-Elcano”. , says.

The objective will be to recognize “projects, programs and other entities that have stood out in the work of bringing the two countries closer, particularly through cooperation and exchange between the two States, in areas such as science, research, innovation , education, construction, globalization for sustainable development, territorial development and cross-border cooperation.”

Two declarations of cooperation intentions were also signed between the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal and, on the one hand, the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy of Spain and, on the other, the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration from Spain.

Montenegro and Sánchez are honorary citizens of Faro

They were finally signed. Memorandums of understanding with a view to the creation of a Technological Platform for the development of the Portugal-Spain Common Cultural Agenda and another that establishes the bases of Cooperation between the National Library of Portugal and the National Library of Spain.

“Portugal and Spain remember the importance of continuing to promote the Common Cultural Agenda, strengthened with the signing, at this Summit, of a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a digital platform, a tool for the management, dissemination and joint programming of cultural activities. initiatives in both countries,” explains the joint statement.

The President of the Government of Portugal and the President of the Government of Spain have been honorary citizens of Faro since this Wednesday, after having received the keys to the city from the president of the local Chamber, Rogério Bacalhau. “It is a huge pride and honor, as President of the Municipal Council of Faro, to have this unique and perhaps unrepeatable opportunity to welcome to our municipality, and in particular here to our house of democracy, the heads of Government of Portugal and from Spain, Dr. Luis Montenegro and Dr. Pedro Sánchez. This is a naturally symbolic moment for the municipality of Faro, which we commemorate here with this Ceremony of delivery of the Keys of Honor to the City”, stated the president of the municipality in the words he spoke at the event.

The mayor considered that both the Portuguese Prime Minister and the President of the Spanish Government “are, from now on, indelibly and permanently linked” to Faro. The mayor also expressed his confidence that the meeting will serve to “reinforce the excellent and historic bilateral relations between Portugal and Spain and help provide joint responses to the numerous challenges” and “affirm territorial cohesion” and strengthen the European Union.

“We know that today we live in times of great uncertainty and profound transformations in the global geopolitical scenario, starting with the return of war to the European space and the resurgence of other conflicts on a global scale, which, naturally, have an impact on our communities,” argument.

Climate change, migratory crises, trade tensions, technological evolution and artificial intelligence or the resurgence of territorial or natural resource disputes are also “global challenges” that “will require” “increasingly collaborative” responses and “deepening “of ties and strategic cooperation, he said. indicated.

The mayor of Faro asks for a rail connection with Seville

Among these challenges are, according to the mayor, the “drought and water shortage”, for which Portugal and Spain “are already and must continue working together and in coordination” or the railway connections between Portugal and Spain.

“At this point, let’s say that, in addition to the strategic importance of the high-speed connection between Lisbon and Madrid and Porto and Vigo, which we consider urgent, it would also be fair to do launch a rail link between Faro, Huelva and Seville. With this, we will be contributing to the future and economic, social and environmental development of the Euroregion, as well as to the cohesion of our territories with the rest of the Peninsula and Europe,” he appealed.

Rogério Bacalhau called, finally, for the two countries to take advantage of “a historic opportunity” with the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, “helping to prepare” the territories of both countries for the future.