The State delegate, Fran González, and the president of the AZFA, Claudia Pellerano, opened the international meeting today with a message of unity, alliance and commitment to innovation
The event brings together in the Cadiz capital those responsible for free zones, international organizations, universities, ports, institutions and companies from both sides of the Atlantic
It is the second time that Cádiz hosts the conference, after the one organized in 2002, and the third time that the event is held outside the American continent.
Cádiz, October 27, 2026.
The State delegate in the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, Fran González; the president of the Association of Free Zones of the Americas (AZFA), Claudia Pellerano; and the mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García, inaugurated this morning the XXIX Conference of Ibero-American Free Zones that is being held in the city's Congress Palace until tomorrow.
Those responsible for the Cádiz Consortium and the AZFA, organizers of the event, made clear in the opening ceremony the message of unity and alliance between both sides of the Atlantic, necessary cooperation to adapt to new markets within the framework of sustainability and innovation.
The opening ceremony gave way to two days of presentations and interventions by experts that highlight the role of Cádiz as a connecting space between both shores of the Atlantic, consolidating the close and historical connection between the city and the province as a natural gateway.
The ecosystem of innovation and Blue Economy that the Cádiz Free Zone has been weaving with its new industry model is already being a reference and model in some countries, such as Santa Marta in Colombia, whose officials recently visited Cádiz to learn in situ the ecosystem of the Cádiz Consortium, which is working to implement models similar to the Cádiz one. Today's session has proposed a clear update linked to new trends turning towards more modern, innovative and sustainable free zones.
The delegate of the Cádiz Free Zone, Fran González, welcomed those attending the meeting and explained that "this year's motto 'The ocean that unites us. The conversations that will mark the future' perfectly defines the essence of this XXIX Conference of Ibero-American Free Zones, an ocean that has linked us since ancient times, that makes us brothers."
"In Cádiz we were born knowing that our connection with Ibero-America is strong, that Cádiz maintains a deep historical, cultural and economic connection with Ibero-America, consolidated over the centuries by the transfer of the Casa de la Contratación to Cádiz in the 18th century, the city became the main engine of maritime trade between Spain and the American continent," said the delegate.
Fran González added that "we are proud to host the Conference and that for the second time AZFA has trusted us to co-organize it. Cádiz becomes the connection center between free zones and this allows us for the international cooperation network that we have been weaving around the Blue Economy to strengthen and take another step."
For her part, Claudia Pellerano, the president of the Association of Free Trade Zones of the Americas (AZFA), has been “very satisfied with the reception that the Free Zone of Cádiz and the wonderful city have offered them and has insisted on the importance of working as allies.”
The president of AZFA stressed the importance of the relationship between Spain and the countries of Latin America, where free zones play a fundamental role in the integration of the economies on both sides of the Atlantic. Likewise, he agreed with the Cádiz official that this event makes the conference motto a reality: "The ocean that unites us"; countries and free zones united by a common history and a shared vision in pursuit of development, innovation and sustainability.
THE mayor of Cádiz welcomed all the participants to the city and thanked them for having the capital of Cádiz and the Free Trade Zone for the celebration of such an important international event.
Expert speakers
The opening presentation was given by Marc Canal, senior researcher at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey's economic and business research area. & Company. Canal has offered a keynote conference, in which he has presented an optimistic vision of the global future, in line with his book “A century of plenty”.
Today's second keynote address was given by Juan Verde, an expert in international strategy and who was an advisor during the Barack Obama Administration, who spoke about a new world order and has aroused enormous interest among a large group of students from the University of Cádiz who attended his presentation.
Juan Verde has exposed a reality arguing that “we are facing a new reality, moving to a world in which the institutions that set the rules have moved to a world in which diplomacy is based on not multilateral but bi-directional interests.”
Port logistics has been the protagonist of today's day with another of the strong points of today's program, the intervention of Paul Kent with "The role of Ibero-American ports as global logistics platforms" and the table on port logistics and free zones, moderated by the delegate of the Seville Free Zone and which had the participation of Pilar Parra, from Puertos del Estado; Diego Nieve, from PTP Group; José Manuel Berdugo, from Transferport; and Teópila Martínez from the Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz.
It has been a very complete day, in which other high-level speakers have also been present, such as the permanent secretary of the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB), Narciso Casado, the Uruguayan ambassador Guillermo Vallés or the delegate of the Vigo Free Trade Zone, who shared a table with the president of AZFA, Claudia Pellerano, the general director of Incyde and the director of International Expansion of the ICO.
Prominent experts and officials from free zones, international organizations, universities, ports, institutions and companies from both sides of the Atlantic, who will continue their interventions tomorrow at the closing day of the XXIX Conference of Ibero-American Free Zones.
The event returns to the capital of Cadiz more than two decades after the city hosted this meeting in 2002, once again reinforcing its role as a connecting space between both shores of the Atlantic. This event arrives in the Cadiz capital after having passed through Punta del Este (Uruguay, 2025), Curaçao (2024), Barcelona (2023) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic, 2022).