Today, the President of the Government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, begins his official trip to the United States (from March 27 to 31), which will take him to the cities of Boston, Washington and New York. Among other activities, the head of the Government plans to deliver a conference at Harvard; sign cooperation agreements with North American institutions; maintain contacts with think-tanks and media outlets, and visit Catalan companies and entities located in the country. The President will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Raül Romeva, and the Delegate of the Catalan Government in the USA, Andrew Scott Davis.

 

 

 

 

 

The official visit will begin in Boston on Monday, March 27^th at 9 am, with a visit to the Cambridge Innovation Center. After visiting the facilities with the CIC founder Tim Rowe, the head of the Government will hold talks with entrepreneurs in a working session aimed at exchanging views and experiences on research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

 

 

At 4.15pm in the afternoon, Carles Puigdemont will speak at the Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University. In a conference entitled "Catalonia, Today and Tomorrow", the head of the Executive will analyze the current political situation in Catalonia in the context of Europe. After the President’s intervention, there will be a Q&A session with the attendees.

 

Prior to his intervention, the president will hold a meeting with the director of Center, Grzegorz Ekiert.

 

  

 

 

On Tuesday morning, March 28^th, the President will travel to Washington, D.C., where he will visit the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival, with whom the Ministry of Culture signed an agreement for Catalan culture to be present in the next edition of the Festival.

 

 

In the afternoon, the President will hold several institutional meetings and interviews with the press.

 

On Wednesday at 9.00 am, the President will sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Wilson Center, one of the most prestigious think-tanks in the United States, and the Catalan Institute of Land (INCASÒL) to collaborate in the field of urban development. Before signing the agreement, which will take place at the Wilson Center, the President will meet with Andrew Selee, vice president of the entity.

 

The Wilson Centre and Incasòl will work specifically on the development of affordable housing programs, as well as on the economic dynamization of the territory through the creation of new sectors of economic activity, with an emphasis on multilevel governance models.

 

 

On Wednesday, the President will also hold talks with representatives of Washington D.C’s universities and members of American think-tanks, with which he will analyze the political future of Catalonia. This working session will take place at 12.00 pm at the American Enterprise Institute, and will be attended by the president of the Institute, Arthur Brooks.

 

 

 

 

 

The final stage of the trip will begin on Thursday March 30^th in New York. At 4.00 pm Carles Puigdemont will visit the Jewish Museum, where he will meet with its director to discuss future collaborations.

 

 

 

At 7.00 pm, the head of the Government will attend a reception organized by FC Barcelona, at the club’s offices in New York. Representatives of North American and Catalan companies, institutions and entities located in the United States will also be attending the meeting.

 

 

On the final day, Friday, March 31, President Puigdemont is scheduled to visit the new Europastry plant in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Europastry is a Catalan family business founded in 1987 and is one of the leading companies in the frozen dough and pastry sector. The company already has a plant in Long Island with 320 workers, and the new facilities will add 250 more jobs to the economy. The President will receive a tour of the facilities accompanied by the head of the factory, Oriol Tey.