As part of the cooperation activities between North-East (Romania) and Atlántico (Colombia), two officials from the North-East Regional Development Agency carried out their 3-day study visit in Atlántico from October 17th through October 19th, 2022.
Both regions cooperate to identify investment opportunities based on S3 priority areas and share best practices on performing cluster management organizations to boost their economic reactivation on strategic sectors (health, pharma, logistics, energy, tourism), as well as innovative solutions corresponding to specific sectors/niches.
In this sense, the Romanian delegation had the opportunity to meet different benchmark entities placed in the capital city of the region, Barranquilla, with emphasis on cluster associations linked to the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce and the Atlántico Regional Competitiveness Commission. Moreover, delegates visited Uninorte, Macondo and AudacIA from the Simón Bolívar University, ProBarranquilla, Camacol Atlántico, Cientech, COFCA (Clínica Oftalmológica del Caribe), CREATIO (Universidad de la Costa) and Promigas.
Both regional delegates have been very active during the study visit, and some opportunities for cooperation have been identified, including the following topics: circular economy, renewable energy and hydrogen generation, energy efficiency and green buildings, health and pharma (molecular image, software solutions), research with the academia.
Finally, Romanian delegates participated in networking event organized by IURC in the city of Barranquilla “Towards Sustainable Cities & Regions: “Advancing Nature-Based Solutions and Urban Regeneration” after the study visit. This participation allowed them to keep learning and exchanging knowledge of urban regeneration initiatives of the region, a strategic area for the development of both territories.
The IURC Programme constitutes the second phase of the International Urban Cooperation Programme (IUC, 2016-2020) and aims to lead and develop a decentralized form of international urban and regional cooperation in the fields of sustainable urban development and regional innovation. The programme supports pairings between cities and regions of the European Union with their counterparts in six Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. In total, the network of cities and regions of IURC Latin America is made up of 24 cities and 20 regions.
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Author: Pedro Cueva
November 8, 2022