The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès i Garcia, and the president of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, signed this morning a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening the relations of collaboration between the two territories of the which, according to the Chief Executive, “will bring more prosperity and well-being to the citizens. Advancing the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and strengthening our export orientation".

During his speech, the chief executive expressed his satisfaction with the signing of this memorandum "with one of the most prosperous and dynamic regions in Europe", which reaffirms "the excellent relations that Emilia-Romagna and Catalonia have historically had" and lays the foundations for a "prosperous collaboration" in policies of innovation, digital and technological transformation, fight against climate change, defense of public health services or cooperation in the field of the Mediterranean.

In this sense, the head of government has detailed that the agreement strengthens the will to innovate in the transfer of knowledge from universities and research centers to the productive sector, but also, especially in the field of health and preservation of the environment. "Commiting to strengthening the university and research system, especially with a territory that has one of the oldest universities in the world". In addition, Aragonès has also emphasized that the agreement "promotes the digital transformation of public administration that must be used to bring it closer to the citizens, taking advantage of the full potential of Big Data".

For her part, the Minister of Foreign Action and Open Government, Victòria Alsina, explained that the signing of this bilateral agreement "is a formalization of links that already exist between Catalonia and Emilia-Romagna, two territories that look a lot like each other and that today are even closer". According to Alsina, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Emilia-Romagna is an example of the Government of Catalonia's commitment to "forge alliances and complicities with national communities and policies similar to ours, to strengthenan agenda of joint collaboration and also our position at a global level".

"This agreement would not have been possible without the involvement of our delegation in Italy and its delegate, Luca Bellizzi," said Councillor Alsina, who congratulated Bellizzi on her recent renewal for a new term. The Minister emphasized the "usefulness" of the network of government delegations abroad, which she has defined as an instrument to "position Catalonia as a dynamic and entrepreneurial region, a reliable partner recognized by all international agents". In addition, Alsina stressed that the deployment of the new network of delegations and offices planned for 2022 will increase from 44 to 63 countries with an institutional presence of the Government of Catalonia.

For his part, the president of the Italian region stressed that "we are very proud to sign this important and strategic agreement with a region that is at the forefront of Europe".

Other participating in the event were the regional minister of Schools, Universities, Research and Digital Agenda of Emilia-Romagna, Paola Salomoni and the mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore.