A delegation from the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) has participated in the EU-Central America Forum 2026 "Trade, connectivity, and sustainable investment," held in Panama City. The high-level bi-regional meeting, organized by the EU with the support of the Secretariat for Economic Integration of Central America (SIECA) and the Central American Integration System (SICA), brought together 300 representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as ministers and ambassadors from the EU of all Central American countries, with the aim of aligning the EU-Central America Association Agreement (ADA) with the EU's Global Gateway Strategy.
The delegation from the Port of Algeciras presented two strategically significant initiatives at this forum: the Green and Digital Corridor between Panama and the Port of Algeciras, and the Digital Interoperability Project between the Central American Digital Trade Platform and the Port Community System of the Port of Algeciras, which was presented for the first time in 2025 in Costa Rica.
On the first day of the forum, Rafael Olivares, deputy general director of Operations at the APBA, participated in the panel on Sustainable Logistics and Green Maritime Corridors. Olivares presented the progress of the Green and Digital Corridor between Panama and the Port of Algeciras, an initiative aimed at decarbonizing maritime container traffic in one of the most strategically significant transoceanic routes in the world: the route between the Panama Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar. According to the data presented, this corridor would allow an estimated annual saving of 800,000 tons of CO₂, which would be equivalent to removing 400,000 vehicles from circulation. The APBA representative emphasized the need for not only defining alternative fuels that will be used in navigation but also for a harmonized international regulation that facilitates the energy transition of the maritime sector.
In the same panel, Juan Miguel Simarro, commercial director of Moeve Integration, agreed with Olivares on the need to advance this regulation and to revive the NETZero Project of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Simarro highlighted Moeve's new fuel projects in what he termed "a privileged location": the Green Hydrogen Valley of Andalusia, an industrial ecosystem located in the environment of the Campo de Gibraltar and the Bay of Algeciras that concentrates several initiatives aimed at producing sustainable fuels for maritime transport.
The second day of the forum was dedicated to trade facilitation and included the intervention of two representatives from the Algeciras port ecosystem. Meritxell Souto participated on behalf of the Association of Freight Forwarders of the Port of Algeciras (ATEIA), while María Román, head of the Operations and Services Department for the Port Community of the APBA, detailed the advances of the Interoperability Project between the Central American Digital Trade Platform and the Port Community System of the Port of Algeciras. This initiative, integrated into the EU's Global Gateway Strategy, aims to facilitate trade exchange between Central America and Europe by connecting the technological platforms that manage logistics and documentary information in both regions.
Román highlighted that the Port of Algeciras has consolidated itself as a gateway to the European Union for Central American products and provided the illustrative fact that 80% of the Costa Rican pineapple consumed in Europe arrives on the continent through the Algeciras port. The APBA official explained that the interoperability project goes beyond mere technological connection: "It's not just about connecting two technological platforms; it's about connecting logistics ecosystems between two regions, allowing for process anticipation, reducing waiting times, improving traceability, and facilitating trade in a much more efficient way."
The presence of the APBA at the EU-Central America Forum 2026 is part of the strategy of the Port of Algeciras to position itself as a reference logistics node in the routes between Central America and Europe, taking advantage of its location in the Strait of Gibraltar and its status as Spain's first port in total cargo traffic. The two initiatives presented in Panama City address the two major axes of the international port agenda: the decarbonization of maritime transport and the digitalization of foreign trade processes.