The fifth edition of World Maritime Week is now underway: the international forum on the global maritime industry being held from today to Friday, 21 March, at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre. The opening ceremony took place at 10:30 this morning in the Luxua pavilion, presided over by Amaia Barredo, the Basque Government’s Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries. Cristina Múgica, Director of Territorial Competitiveness and Foreign Promotion of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia; Irantzu Allende, Deputy Minister for Energy Transition of the Basque Government; and Xabier Basañez, General Manager of the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, also took part in the official opening.

The first day began with the cross-cutting sessions. The initial keynotes were presented by Polyvios Eliofotou, Cabinet Expert of Commissioner Kadis – European Commissioner For Fisheries And Oceans – European Commission, and Xabier Viteri, Director of Renewable Energy – Iberdrola. After those presentations, the conference focused on the Blue Economy for Sustainable Growth, a session that gave way to the institutional block under the title of Institutional Perspective on The Blue Economy. The conference programme will continue, after a short break, with the sectoral sessions.

Over three days, World Maritime Week will bring together international professionals from the naval (Sinaval), fishing (EuroFishing), port (FuturePort) and marine renewable energy (Marine Energy Week) sectors. The event is based on three pillars: Innovation, Knowledge and Networking. These will be represented, in addition to the congress programme, in an Exhibition Area showcasing the latest technological innovations from more than 50 leading companies and in the numerous networking opportunities, including B2B meetings as part of the Hosted Buyers’ Programme.