Mario Cabrera demands a more important role for Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the structure of the “Casa de Africa” a plan to increase commercial activity with the African continent. He demands urgent action so that in July they can begin to operate the ferry connection between Puerto del Rosario and Tarfaya in Morocco.
The president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Mario Cabrera, considered that the recent decision to approve the creation of the consortium” Casa de África”,” is good news that ends much work in recent years, to support this project and the presence of in it in the Canaries. The plan is the collaboration of agencies in the Cabildo, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, el Gobierno de Canarias, el Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran canaria y los cabildos de Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote y Fuerteventura.
Mario Cabrera demanded “that as much Lanzarote as Fuerteventura, the closest islands and those with greater historic relation to the African continent, now have the role that they deserve within this plan. What we would not accept the beaurocratic centralism that could have left the two islands as mere inactive lumps of stone”
The consortium of the “Casa de Africa” will have an approximate annual budget of some 5 million euro, and be like an information exchange forum and will promote commercial relations with the African continent, continuing the precedents set by the” House of America” and the “House of Asia” which has headquarters in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. “The agreement of constitution of the consortium of the “Casa de Africa” with headquarters in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria,” something that in my opinion is reasonable; but at same time indicates the possibility to diversify the locating of its activities, the participation of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote has to be respected”, explained Mario Cabrera.
The president of the city Hall further stressed that, “in the case of Fuerteventura, the historic emigration of majoreros to the African continent” is not something very recent, because one must recall that barely some decades ago more than the half of the population of the island had to be going to work and to live on the continent. The African origin population’s presence in our island is very important, and acknowledges the suffering and the human tragedy that the illegal emigration creates”.
Mario Cabrera also referred to the preparations for the next opening of a direct commercial line between Puerto del Rosario and Tarfaya,” a mode of communication and commercial activity that should take advantage of and to promote to bias d agencies as the “Casa de Africa” Although it notified that the business” Tarima Marok”, a Hispanic-Moroccan mixed company, waited for a decision by the Interior Ministry and is alarmed by the delay that the bureaucracy has caused in the decision of the Interior Ministry, that should judge before July if declares that it can be covered by a Schengen Agreement, (an agreement about border controls that primarily cover EU members countries). Which will permit cooperation with other countries out of the European Union.
“ Therefore what we demand of the Department action in the creation of the “Casa de Africa, so that Fuerteventura does lose not this opportunity, since runs the danger that the base of operations of this commercial line could betransfered to another place where a Schengen agreement already exists and that would be very negative for the interests of the island. We are speaking of Direct maritime connection that we would become the entrance door for the commercial traffic within the northwest of Africa and in which there are many business expectations put”, finished indicating the president of the city Hall of Fuerteventura.
The president of the city Hall of Fuerteventura recalled that the statement Schengen Agreement can be carried out in provisional form, as requested recently at the Council meeting in Puerto del Rosario, in which it was said that the port authority already has declared their availability to yield installations in the spring to be able to Begin this service immediately” and the security Forces include the personnel necessary paymaster in the Airport.
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