The Consortium has been invited by the Peruvian authorities to present its transformation model as an example of good practices before institutional, academic and business representatives of the country
Fran González sees “a reason for pride” this recognition of the work carried out by the Cádiz Free Trade Zone and exposes its experience in the Blue Economy, innovation and sustainability.
The mission coincides with the XXX anniversary of ZED Paita and includes meetings with its managers and visits to its facilities, companies and the strategic port of Paita
The Ibero-American agenda will continue in Colombia together with the University of Cádiz in InnovAzul Caribe, a prelude to the major international events that Cádiz will host at the end of October
The Cádiz Free Zone has strengthened new alliances in Peru within its cooperation strategy with Latin America in an institutional and business mission in which the Consortium has been invited by the Peruvian authorities to present its transformation process as an example of good practices before representatives of the Government, institutions, companies and officials linked to its special economic zones.
The State delegate, Fran González, has presented in the city of Piura the model developed by the Cádiz Free Trade Zone in recent years, especially its commitment to the Blue Economy, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability, within a meeting dedicated precisely to analyzing the future and the transformation of the Special Economic Zones of Peru. Their intervention has made it possible to share the Cádiz experience and, at the same time, deepen relations with the Paita Special Development Zone (ZED Paita) and explore new opportunities for cooperation between both territories.
González has considered “a reason for satisfaction and pride” that the Peruvian authorities have invited the Cádiz Free Zone to share their experience. “That we can tell how we have transformed the entity itself as an example of good practices within the framework of the transformation that is being carried out in the country's free zones seems to us a recognition of the work we have been doing.”, he highlighted.
The Cádiz delegation has held working meetings with the president of the ZED Paita Board of Directors, Leonardo Rosas, and with the manager, Marco Castro, to exchange experiences on the respective development models and analyze possible lines of collaboration. The agenda included an institutional visit to the ZED Paita facilities and, later, a tour of the port of Paita and its docks managed by Terminales Portuarios Euroandinos (TPE). The presence from Cádiz also coincides with a particularly significant moment for ZED Paita, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Piura and Paita also present characteristics of special interest for the strategy developed by the Cádiz Free Trade Zone. The region has important activity linked to marine resources and has a strategic port enclave in Paita, elements that offer opportunities to advance initiatives related to the Blue Economy and sustainability.
The Cadiz Blue Economy model
One of the central moments of the mission has been the participation of Fran González in the Academic Forum organized by ZED Paita under the title “Future vision of the Special Economic Zones of Peru”, a meeting designed to analyze the challenges and opportunities of these spaces and their contribution to the economic development of the country.
The State delegate spoke with a presentation specifically dedicated to the presentation of the Blue Economy model of the Cádiz Free Zone, sharing the experience developed by the Consortium in recent years and projects such as Incubazul, Blue Core and the Decarbonization Plan.
The forum has had a broad Peruvian institutional, business and academic representation. Among its participants are the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Sayuri Bayona; the general director of Business Development of the Ministry of Production, César Llona; and representatives of the National Council of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC), of the eco-industrial parks project and Euro-Andean Port Terminals. Fran González has also met with the senator for Piura, Karla Schaefer.
The presence of the Cádiz Free Trade Zone in this forum has made it possible to show the evolution experienced by the Cádiz model and, especially, its commitment to using the Blue Economy as a tool to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and the creation and consolidation of companies linked to the sea.
Incubazul and Blue Core represent two complementary stages of this strategy, from the incubation and acceleration of innovative projects to the growth, consolidation and internationalization of blue companies. Added to this is the Decarbonization Plan, which incorporates sustainability and the reduction and compensation of the carbon footprint as transversal elements of the Consortium's activity.
The day in Piura was completed with a visit to ZED Paita clients, with which the Cádiz delegation learned directly about business projects implemented in this space and deepened their knowledge of its operating model and the opportunities it offers to companies.
Fran González has highlighted in this sense that the meeting has allowed “learn about another series of infrastructures and initiatives that we can connect with our business fabric in Cádiz” and move forward “that connection and alliance of the Ibero-American network that we have also been supporting for some time”.
From Peru to Colombia
The international mission of the Free Zone will now continue in Colombia, where the entity will participate together with the University of Cádiz in InnovAzul Caribe, which will give continuity to the collaboration that both institutions maintain to promote the Blue Economy and internationally project the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem developed in Cádiz.
The Colombian agenda also seeks to reinforce the institutional contacts developed in recent months and continue working on the possibilities of cooperation and transfer of experiences linked to projects such as Incubazul and Blue Core, adapted to the characteristics and needs of other territories.
The stops in Peru and Colombia are thus part of an international cooperation strategy that will have its next major meeting point in Cádiz at the end of October, when the city will host the XXIX Conference of Ibero-American Free Zones, which will bring together institutional, business and academic representatives from both sides of the Atlantic.
On those same dates, Cádiz will once again place the Blue Economy at the center of the debate with the celebration of the Blue Zone Forum InnovAzul 2026, with the aim of reinforcing the international projection of an ecosystem built on collaboration between administrations, universities, companies and specialized entities.
La misión iniciada en Perú se integra de este modo en una hoja de ruta que quiere dar continuidad a las relaciones establecidas en los últimos meses, ampliar la red de alianzas de la Zona Franca de Cádiz y convertir la cooperación con Iberoamérica en nuevas oportunidades de intercambio de conocimiento, innovación y desarrollo empresarial.