15-12-2021. Fundación Valenciaport and STC Group Foundation, knowledge, innovation and training centres located respectively in two international port clusters such as Valencia and Rotterdam, have reached a collaboration agreement to join forces in relation to current and innovative Technical Assistance.

The agreement was formalised with the signing of an MOU in the framework of the XXIX Latin American Ports Congress, organised by the AAPA and held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

With a global scope, both organisations, pioneers at the international port level, will seek to pool their knowledge and experience through the development of innovative and high added-value services. These will be aimed at the unique context of the different ports, port communities and institutions of the logistics sector, both public and private.

There are several initiatives, coming from the public or private sector, which seek to respond to the different challenges facing the maritime and port sector. In the same way, several ports, such as those of Valencia or Rotterdam, have positioned themselves as leaders of good practices in efficiency, sustainability and resilience. A common element of these success stories is collaboration, which has been, is and will be a fundamental axis for the creation of knowledge, solutions and services that add value to the port sector.

And it is with this philosophy of collaboration that the partnership between the two entities will be able to make a significant contribution to responding to the challenges facing the port logistics sector in many countries. From the environmental imperative to reduce the carbon footprint associated with port activities, to the need to ensure that such operations remain efficient and resilient to disruptions of all kinds. All these forces add to the need for port communities to maintain their relevance in the local and national economic fabric as well as in international trade.

Both Silvina Pereira Marques (STC International) and Manuel Martínez de Ubago (STC NESTRA), as well as Miguel Garín from Fundación Valenciaport, announced that there will soon be more information on the new common services; but, they anticipate that digitalisation, energy transition and new more sustainable and resilient management models in ports and port communities are among the main topics to be developed jointly.

Both firms share the saying “If you walk alone, you will go faster; if you walk together, you will go further”.