The MEDITERRANEAN COOPERATION DAYS “STRATEGIC CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA” was held in Alicante on June 2 and 3. The event was organized by AITEX and the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), in collaboration with CASA MEDITERRÁNEO.

The Conference aimed to showcase the achievements of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Mediterranean region, highlight coming challenges under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, and interchange strategies to develop new actions for business development.

These sessions were organized in the framework of the ENI CBC Programme 2014-2020. The project, entitled CRE@CTIVE, aims to foster value chains and business alliances among MSMEs in Mediterranean textile, footwear and leather sectors in order to encourage the creation of new products and business growth, by building bridges between these sectors and the creative industry.

Mr. Vicente Blanes, General Director of AITEX, Mr. Andrés Perelló, General Director of Casa Mediterráneo and Mr. Jordi Sebastià, General Director of External Relations of IVACE addressed the opening session.

Mr. Jordi Sebastià highlighted that “these conferences are a great opportunity to learn about other perspectives and strengthen north-south cooperation, which is so necessary nowadays”. In this sense, Mr. Sebastià added that “IVACE’s participation in the CRE@CTIVE project is based on knowing the situation of traditional sectors in the Mediterranean area and encouraging their innovation through tools such as design or digitization”.

In addition, the event was attended by a large group of personalities, including Mr. Ricardo Sánchez, Deputy director in charge of Foreign Relations in the Secretary of State for the European Union – MAEC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation) and Mr. Joan Calabuig Regional Secretary for the European Union and External Relations, Presidencia de la Generalitat.

The main objective underlying is no other than uniting synergies between traditional sector businesses in the Mediterranean Basin. The word synergy comes from the Greek and means teamwork. So, synergy is the extra benefit that two companies obtain when they work together or merge, thereby leading to greater added value. Unity is strength.