On 20 February 2025, the conference for the presentation of the projects approved in the 1st Interreg MAC (Madeira, Azores, Canary Islands) call for proposals was held in Nouakchott, Mauritania. The conference was held within the framework of the strategic project ATLANTE, approved by the Interreg MAC programme to support and boost cooperation with the programme’s African partners.

The institutional opening was attended by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, the Spanish Ambassador, the European Union Ambassador, the Mauritanian Minister of Economy and Finance and senior officials from the Government of the Azores and the Canary Islands (Directorate General for Relations with Africa and Directorate General for European Affairs, Managing Authority of the Interreg MAC programme).

The projects were presented by representatives of the organisations responsible (main partners from the Canary Islands) together with their Mauritanian partners (universities, tourist offices, chambers of commerce, national and training institutes, etc.). The strong commitment to joint work at both the institutional and technical levels for the implementation of the projects was evident, as was the importance of the previous experience in most of the partnerships.

Nine of the ten approved projects were presented with Mauritanian partners, mainly within Priority 1 of the programme (Smart MAC) in areas such as the green and blue economy (desalination, algae, aquaculture, food security) and business competitiveness and innovation (tourism, ports, adapted training) with 2 projects also in Priority 2 (Green MAC) on renewable energies, biodiversity and green and blue infrastructures and finally a project within the framework of Priority 4 (Mobility MAC) to address the phenomenon of migration in a global manner (Observatory of mobility between the Canary Islands and Africa). The importance of the training component foreseen in most of the projects was emphasized.