Sines, Setúbal, Portugal, June 28, 2024 (Lusa) - The port of Sines (in Portugal's Setúbal region) and the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex in Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to create a green corridor for the exchange of agri-food, steel and energy products.
The memorandum comes as part of the Global Gateway initiative, launched in 2021 by the European Commission (EC) to promote smart, clean and secure connections in the digital, energy and transport sectors, hoping to mobilise €300 billion by 2027.
The document was signed by the president of the Sines and Algarve Ports Administration (APS), José Luís Cacho, and the president of the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex (CPI), Hugo Figueiredo Júnior.
Following on from the Global Gateway mechanism, the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve (APS) signed memorandums of understanding with the Barra do Dande Development Company in Angola and with Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional in Brazil in 2023.
"The Global Gate Way is an opportunity for Sines to boost its connectivity on a global scale with a focus on the South Atlantic and to secure investments of an industrial and logistical nature that are fundamental for the future sustainability of the port [of Sines] and for the country's economic growth," said the president of the port administration, José Luís Cacho.
According to the official, who was speaking during the ceremony to sign the memorandum between the two organisations, which took place in the Port of Sines auditorium, the partnerships that have been established will allow for the development of "a hub and a logistics corridor" with Angola and Brazil.
"This memorandum strengthens the connectivity offered by the ports of Sines and Pecém which, in turn, will strengthen Sines' links to Europe," emphasised José Luís Cacho, pointing to the areas of "agribusiness, raw materials linked to steelmaking and green hydrogen".
For his part, CPI president Hugo Figueiredo Júnior highlighted the "two major projects underway" in the state of Ceará - the green hydrogen hub and the Transnordestina railway - which "will transform the economy of the region and Brazil".
"We are in a very favourable position as one of the most competitive locations for producing green hydrogen and delivering it in the form of ammonia to consumer markets in Europe and Asia," he said.
Investment in the Transnordestina railway, which connects the interior of Piauí, "a major producer of soya, corn, cotton and minerals", with the Port of Pecém, "opens up the possibility of transporting this production all over the world, especially to the European market", he said.
In the official's view, the partnership with the Port of Sines will make it possible to "add more and more value to products", including "production chains" and boosting "joint development, generating employment, business and opportunities".
For the High Representative of the European Commission, António Vicente, this partnership allows us to "bring the Brazilian economy, the Portuguese economy and the European Union even closer together, and create new corridors for green hydrogen, steel and food goods and we are using digitalisation to reduce logistics costs".
The secretary of state for infrastructure, Hugo Espírito Santo, who was also present at the ceremony, said that the memorandum "is very much in line with the current government's vision of growth" and the creation of "new avenues" for shipping, with the port of Sines being "a European hub of excellence".
The memorandum of understanding aims to establish the scope, rules and guiding principles for joint action to establish and develop sustainable, green and digital logistics corridors to support a strategy centred on three essential pillars: "logistics resilience", "energy resilience" and "physical and digital connectivity".
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