Travel will be necessary. Puertos del Estado and the American Association of Port Authorities for Latin America held an executive forum to address the major future challenges facing the maritime and logistics sector, the state ports body said on LinkedIn. The meeting brought together port officials and executives from Latin America and the Caribbean, along with representatives of the main Spanish mainland port authorities and the Port Authority of Las Palmas, as a strategic link between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Port management and innovation models
The meeting addressed strategic issues including governance, infrastructure planning, institutional cooperation, internationalisation, sustainability and technological transformation. During the working sessions, the Puertos de Las Palmas delegation, represented by Beatriz Calzada, exchanged experiences with ports including Barcelona, Bilbao, Cádiz, Cartagena, Alicante, Santander, Motril, Seville and Vigo, as well as with international organisations such as RETE, the association for port-city integration. The forum provided an opportunity to showcase the island management model and its ability to adapt to changes in volumes across global supply chains.
Sustainability and the energy transition in the Atlantic
During the opening session, Puertos del Estado chairman Gustavo Santana highlighted that ports are economic engines, innovation centres and the heart of their cities, stressing the need to promote international cooperation to address the energy transition, digitalisation and climate change. In this context, Las Palmas’ geographical position takes on key importance as a testing ground and centre for sustainable development along the Atlantic routes connecting the Ibero-American continent with markets in West Africa and Europe.
Strengthening Atlantic alliances
The Latin American delegation represented by the sector organisation underscored the importance of the forum in building bridges for direct cooperation between Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean. The event consolidated the role of Las Palmas terminals as a hub not only for cargo operations, container transshipment and cold-chain logistics, but also as a strategic partner in knowledge transfer, technological innovation and sustainable management standards across the Ibero-American port network.
The article Iberia Plus: Las Palmas emerges as a logistics hub at Puertos del Estado’s Ibero-American gathering was first published on canarymaritime.com.
