The President of the Government defended today that the region has the conditions to become a national reference, within a decade, in three sea-related sectors: nautical tourism, commercial exploitation of marine resources and the balance between environmental policies and economic potentialities.

"We have the potential and conditions to, within a decade, transform the Azores in a reference Region nationwide in the area of maritime tourism," stressed Vasco Cordeiro. The government official spoke at the opening session of the meeting "The Sea and Engineering as the development pillars of the Autonomous Region of the Azores," an event promoted by the Regional Section of the Portuguese Association of Engineers.

According to Vasco Cordeiro, the Azores also intend to be a national reference in the commercial exploitation of sea-related activities and the use of scientific knowledge brought by these activities as well as in environmental management with the balance between environmental policies and economic activities.

At the opening session, the President of the Government said that the State "has not been up to its responsibilities" when it comes to the defence of its interests in the Azores Sea, a fundamental resource for the generation of wealth and employment creation strategies in the archipelago.

Vasco Cordeiro also emphasised that "raising public awareness for the importance of these goals and encouraging citizens' participation in this discussion" are some of the challenges we face when trying to address the potentialities of the Sea in economic development.

"This challenge has yet to be overcome, but this initiative provides a valuable contribution to reinforcing public awareness for the importance of the Sea, its defence and the use of its resources," defended the President.

According to the President of the Government, the lack of knowledge was noticeable on the part of European institutions since the days of the Maritime Policy Green Paper, in which the importance of the Atlantic area was overlooked.

"But the ignorance on the Azores Sea is also visible in Portugal as evidenced by the political guidelines on the use of this resource and the institutional understanding on the importance, use and potential of the Azores Sea in the development of the entire national territory," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.

According to him, the importance of the Azores Sea comprehends traditional areas such as the Fisheries sector, but there are other areas, such as biotechnology, that may "enhance the commercial potential of scientific knowledge. The University of the Azores plays an important role in this context, despite the fact that, sometimes, its strategic relevance has not been fully understood and recognised."

"I think that national bodies should understand the importance of the role played by the University of the Azores, which distinguishes it from other universities and puts it in a privileged position for the establishment of partnerships at a national level," said Vasco Cordeiro.