An international forum in Angra do Heroísmo is seeking to transform geographical distance into practical cooperation. From marine science and biodiversity to port decarbonization, digital technologies and the blue economy, the Azores and Catalonia want their different experiences to become complementary strengths—and concrete European projects.
The Atlantic and the Mediterranean do not meet on any map, yet in Angra do Heroísmo they have been brought to the same table. On September 21 and 22, representatives from the Azores and Catalonia are gathering for the international forum “Smart Oceans: Sustainability, Technology and Economic Growth,” an initiative intended not merely to exchange ideas about the sea but to identify opportunities for cooperation in science, technology, business, sustainable ports and marine protection. The event is jointly promoted by the Azorean Regional Government and the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Portugal.
For Artur Lima, Vice-President of the Azorean Government, the relationship rests upon a conviction that contemporary ocean challenges cannot be answered within political or geographical borders. He described Catalonia and the Azores as partners capable of building cooperation in scientific, technological, economic and social fields, arguing that marine biodiversity and emerging ocean technologies require international alliances rather than isolated responses. His ambition is also explicitly economic: the Azores, he said, should be understood not simply as an immense maritime territory but as a place capable of converting its oceanic position into research, innovation and sustainable development.
From the Catalan perspective, Rui Reis, the Government of Catalonia’s delegate in Portugal, described an equally practical horizon: connecting researchers and businesses, developing European projects, sharing knowledge and data, and experimenting with solutions for decarbonization, biodiversity and the digitalization of ports. His central argument is one of complementarity. The Azores possess a singular Atlantic location, extensive marine surroundings and accumulated scientific experience as an island and ocean territory; Catalonia brings a substantial ecosystem of research, technology, industry and port activity, with Barcelona serving as one of the Mediterranean’s major maritime gateways. The intention is to turn those differences into an advantage rather than regard them as a distance to overcome.
The gathering reflects that ambition in the institutions around the table. The Azorean side includes the University of the Azores, OKEANOS, Blue Azores, TERINOV, NONAGON, Lotaçor, Portos dos Açores and regional authorities responsible for maritime policy, science and innovation. Catalonia is represented by organizations including BlueNetCat, the Port of Barcelona, Ports de la Generalitat, Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica and the Disruptive & Emerging Technology Alliance. The UN Ocean Decade Collaborative Centre for a Sustainable Ocean Economy is also participating. Discussions range from blue governance and marine monitoring to coastal communities, smart ports and sustainable transport, while the second day includes visits to the Port of Praia da Vitória and TERINOV on Terceira.
The challenge now is to move beyond the language of conferences. Both sides have emphasized the desire for tangible projects, and that distinction matters. Island regions have participated in countless international declarations about sustainability; the more difficult work begins afterward—in shared research programs, investment, European funding applications, interoperable data, cleaner port infrastructure, technology transfer and projects capable of generating skilled employment while protecting the ecosystems upon which the blue economy ultimately depends.
For the Azores, such partnerships also offer another way of understanding insularity. An island can be peripheral when measured from a continental capital, yet central when the map is redrawn around the ocean. The archipelago’s geography places it inside some of the defining questions of this century: ocean observation, climate adaptation, marine biodiversity, sustainable fisheries, renewable energy, maritime transportation and the relationship between technological development and environmental protection. The forum’s organizers similarly frame blue governance, marine science, coastal communities and the green and digital transformation of ports as shared fields for cooperation.
Rui Reis expressed the aspiration in particularly expansive terms: that the Azores and Catalonia cease to be merely territories separated by geography and become territories connected through a common ocean agenda—one grounded in knowledge, innovation, sustainability and European cooperation.
Perhaps that is the most compelling image to emerge from Angra. Between Barcelona and Terceira lie thousands of kilometers, two seas and very different histories. Yet water, which appears on maps as the space separating them, may become precisely what brings them together.
The Atlantic does not need to reach the Mediterranean for the two to meet. Sometimes it is enough for people on their shores to imagine the same future.