The international event, which will be held from October 26 to 28, will turn the Cadiz capital into the great forum for debate on the economic future of free zones and their role as engines of development and innovation
Under the motto “The ocean that unites us”, the meeting will reinforce the role of Cádiz as a bridge between Europe and Latin America and as an international reference in Blue Economy and innovation
Fran González, State delegate: ““This conference is an extraordinary opportunity to show the whole of Latin America the transformation that the Cádiz Free Trade Zone is experiencing and to consolidate strategic alliances.”
Talent, innovation, knowledge transfer, investment and business ecosystems will be the five major axes on which the XXIX Conference of Ibero-American Free Zones will revolve, which will bring together institutional representatives, companies, universities, experts and international organizations from October 26 to 28 in Cádiz to address the main economic challenges faced by free zones and their contribution to the development of Ibero-America.
Organized by the Association of Free Trade Zones of the Americas (AZFA) and the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz, the conference will turn the Cadiz capital into a space for reflection and international cooperation for three days under the motto "The ocean that unites us. The conversations that will mark the future", a declaration of intentions that reflects the desire of the meeting to strengthen economic ties between both shores of the Atlantic and promote new opportunities for shared development.
“This conference is an extraordinary opportunity to show the whole of Ibero-America the transformation that the Cádiz Free Trade Zone is experiencing and share projects that are arousing international interest, such as our commitment to the Blue Economy, innovation or collaboration with universities,” explained the State delegate, Fran González, who believes that this event “will be the ideal setting to consolidate the strategic alliances that we have woven in recent months and open new avenues of cooperation.”
The program has been designed around five major areas that will determine the content of the different presentations and debate tables. The first of them will be talent, understood as the main engine of transformation of organizations and economic growth, focusing on leadership, training, entrepreneurship and the ability to generate new opportunities for companies.
Innovation will constitute the second major thematic block and will analyze how collaboration between universities, technology centers and companies is promoting digitalization, sustainability and the incorporation of new production models capable of responding to the challenges of the future.
The conference will also dedicate a prominent space to the transfer of knowledge, addressing the role of free zones as spaces that connect research, business and logistics to transform knowledge into innovation, competitiveness and economic development, also favoring the creation of international collaboration networks.
The fourth axis will be dedicated to investment to analyze financial instruments, strategic alliances and opportunities to promote business projects, promote internationalization and strengthen the competitiveness of the territories.
Finally, the program will delve into business ecosystems, understood as spaces for cooperation between companies, administrations, universities and international organizations capable of generating synergies, attracting investment and strengthening entrepreneurship and innovation.
These five axes will serve as the guiding thread for an extensive program of conferences and round tables in which highly topical issues will be addressed such as integration and Ibero-American business associations, the role of MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) in the regional economy, the strategic function of ports as logistics platforms, the financing of sustainable development, investments in Ibero-America, the geopolitics of trade, tourist free zones or public-private collaboration as an engine of innovation. Likewise, the meeting will analyze the role of universities in the generation of applied knowledge and the advancement of the OECD certification pilot project for free zones.
The program will also include the Assembly of the Association of Free Trade Zones of the Americas, visits to the fiscal premises of the Free Zone of Cádiz, cultural activities and a main presentation linked to the Blue Zone Forum-Innovazul, which reinforces the commitment of the Free Zone of Cádiz to the Blue Economy as one of the pillars of its development and internationalization strategy.
With the celebration of this conference, the Cádiz Free Zone consolidates its position as a meeting point between Europe and Latin America and as an international reference in innovation, sustainability, economic cooperation and the Blue Economy, by hosting one of the main forums for debate on the present and future of free zones in the Ibero-American sphere.