Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canarian Government, received on 27 April 2026 in Las Palmas a delegation of more than 80 people from the Moroccan region of Souss Massa (Canarias7), led by Karim Achengli, President of the Souss Massa Regional Council. The visit is the second institutional mission in three months — in January 2026 a Canarian delegation signed in Agadir ten cooperation agreements plus a Memorandum of Understanding.
At the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas, bilateral meeting, plenary session and B2B business meetings converged. The result reveals an asymmetry: while the Moroccans travelled to Las Palmas with more than 50 business, commercial, academic and sporting representatives, Clavijo himself answered the question of concrete figures by saying it was «still too early to quantify» what the cooperation delivers economically. The picture: a political signal without numbers, a strategy without hard returns — for now.
Which ten agreements were signed in January 2026?
The ten cooperation agreements were signed on 26 January 2026 in Agadir during a first visit by the Canarian delegation. They cover the following areas: institutional cooperation, economic investment, university and research, science and technology, health, tourism, sport, port infrastructure, logistics and blue economy. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Canarian Government and the Souss Massa Region links all ten under a common strategic framework.
In the follow-up mission of 27 April 2026, an eleventh Memorandum of Understanding was signed — this time between Proexca, the Canarian public investment-promotion company, and the Souss Massa Regional Investment Centre. The goal: foster reciprocal investments, ease company implantation, position the «Agadir–Canary Islands corridor» as a strategic economic axis. Pablo Martín Carvajal, CEO of Proexca, closed the agreement with the Moroccan side.
A twelfth agreement was signed between the Canary Islands Technological Institute and the Moroccan Universidad Ibn Zohr, focused on joint applied research and knowledge transfer. In detail, student exchanges and research projects between the two Canarian public universities and Moroccan institutions are also planned.
What is behind the Las Palmas–Agadir shipping link?
Beatriz Calzada, President of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, announced in the 27 April 2026 plenary that the Authority would study a regular Agadir–Las Palmas connection — «valorar», in the Authority's own words. Concretely: an evaluation of the route model, shipping line options and economic viability, without any prior financial commitment from the Port Authority.
The idea of a direct Agadir–Las Palmas connection is not new. As the maritime specialist portal Canary Maritime points out in its critical analysis of the 27 April mission, the talk is of «the same as was being discussed in the 1990s». A regular line did not materialise then because the freight volumes did not support the investment.
2026 is a different situation: Morocco sent in April 2026 the largest mission of a Moroccan delegation (Gobierno de Canarias) ever to land in the Canaries. Economic data from both regions — particularly Souss Massa's agro-industry and tourism — are more dynamic than 30 years ago.
The Port Authority of Las Palmas positions itself under the slogan «The Atlantic Hub for Global Trade». In the weeks before the Souss Massa visit, Beatriz Calzada had already received over 30 port representatives from Latin America. Las Palmas wants to consolidate as a hub between Europe, Africa and Latin America — Souss Massa is the southern anchor.
Which economic sectors are concretely addressed?
The B2B meetings on the afternoon of 27 April 2026 spread across five sectors: agro-industry, maritime industry, energy, logistics, water management, health, tourism. The Canary Islands Confederation of Employers under Pedro Ortega was on the Canarian side, the Souss Massa Confederation of Employers under Driss Boutti and the Souss Massa Chamber of Commerce under Said Dor on the Moroccan side.
The tourism sector is particularly in focus. Jéssica de León, Counsellor for Tourism and Employment of the Canarian Government, presented the Strategic Plan Canarias Destino 2025-2027, with emphasis on data management, digitalisation and Hoteles Escuela as a training model for the sector. Souss Massa is in turn a growing tourism destination — Agadir has its own investment programme to modernise hotels and beach infrastructure.
The sports sector moves in the context of the 2030 Football World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal jointly host. A Souss Massa delegation visited the Estadio de Gran Canaria on the afternoon of 27 April, to discuss cooperation in infrastructure, coach training, women's football and sports management. Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, has co-financed the stadium — despite his political distance from Clavijo.
Where is the political tension?
Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and Secretary General of Nueva Canarias, publicly criticised in January 2026 Clavijo's trip to Agadir. The central points: the Western Sahara question and the question of concrete figures for the Canarian economy. Morocco regards Western Sahara as Moroccan territory; Spain under Pedro Sánchez aligned in 2022 with the Moroccan position. The United Nations continues to treat Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory.
Clavijo responded on 27 April to corresponding questions that he «shares and respects» the position of the Spanish state, based on «a UN resolution». To the charge of economic abstraction he replies that «protectionism», «hiding or isolating from the world» is «wrong». Whoever wants globalisation — and the Canaries need it — must build bridges, not break them.
The criticism from the maritime specialist press puts it more drily: «the main export product of these summits is official paper and protocol per diems», writes Canary Maritime about the missing concrete figures. The weakness of the Canary Islands–Morocco axis is not the political signal, but the gap between signal and verifiable economic performance.
What does the axis mean strategically?
Clavijo positions the Canaries as «Atlantic platform between Europe and Africa». Souss Massa is placed as «priority region» in the Canary Islands–Africa Strategy. The logic: the Canaries are closer to West Africa than to Madrid, their economic future depends on whether they play the bridge role or not. The Spanish central government under Pedro Sánchez supports this line because it positions Spain as a mediator between the EU and West Africa.
The Moroccan side has its own interest: Souss Massa pitches itself as preferred economic partner of the EU, with Agadir as a hub for agro-industry and tourism. The political signal is reciprocal — both sides want to present themselves as economically active, both have invested high cost in money and attention in this mission.
The next steps: technical commissions installed, a Mesa Técnica supervises the implementation of the ten agreements. The next big stage is an evaluation by the end of 2026 — by then measurable results must arrive. If not, what remains is what Canary Maritime calls «smoking liturgy of neighbourly cooperation».