When the border is a bridge: Field notes from the Advanced Cooperation Mission in the Rio Minho territory

Rio Minho (Portugal — Spain) | 29 June – 2 July

The IURC programme held its first Advanced Cooperation Mission of the Agri-food Community of Practice (CoP 6) in the Rio Minho territory — a cross-border region straddling the Galicia–North Portugal frontier.

Representatives from South Tyrol (Italy), Mendoza (Argentina), Tacna (Peru) and Loreto (Peru) joined the host body, the AECT/EGTC Rio Minho, for four days of working sessions, site visits and institutional encounters on either side of a border that the region has long learned to treat as an opportunity rather than a barrier.

Day 1 | Innovation in the agri-food sector

The mission’s first day unfolded in Tui, on the Spanish side of the Minho river. A working session at the Espazo Sociocultural da Rúa Camilo José Cela brought together a diverse set of voices: presentations on food craftsmanship and local product valorisation (AGACAL), territorial innovation (Fundación Juana de Vega), RIS3T innovation ecosystems (CCDR-N), circular economy applied to agri-food (Tintex Textiles) and circular economy for agri-livestock and organic urban waste towards energy and food sovereignty (Fundación INFIAR). The session included a participatory dynamic — a ‘Map of Challenges, Solutions and Cooperation Opportunities’ — in which delegations mapped shared challenges, identified transferable solutions and voted on priorities. Education and training, valorisation of the primary sector, and circular-economy and digital-technology prototypes for SMEs came out on top; cross-border projects, RIS3T and EU instruments were flagged as the key enablers.

The afternoon moved outside with two technical visits. The first, at Finca Areeiro — a plant-health and agricultural research station of the Deputación de Pontevedra, founded in 1981 and working across plant pathology, soil science, fruit-growing and molecular biology — gave a close look at what applied agricultural research looks like in practice, with experimental plantations of kiwi, small fruits and Galicia’s first tea plantation, alongside diagnostics and advisory services delivered directly to local farmers. The day closed with a visit to Paco & Lola, the largest cooperative by membership in the DO Rías Baixas, producing 100% Albariño across more than 400 growers and exporting the majority of its production worldwide — including an ongoing experiment with alcohol-free wine.

Day 2 | Marketing, internationalisation and business cooperation

The second working day took the group across to Tomiño for a session focused on marketing, internationalisation and business cooperation. Presentations from Eurocidade Cerveira-Tomiño (cross-border cooperation in agri-food), CEVAL/MERCATUS (cross-border economic cooperation and business internationalisation), ACUBAM (internationalisation and the small-fruit sector) and COPLANT (cooperation between producers and joint marketing) were followed by a presentation from the Loreto delegation on entrepreneurship, territorial competitiveness and the region’s Vision 2050 for its Amazonian productive ecosystem.

A participatory dynamic in the form of a ‘Marketplace of Capabilities and Opportunities’ was the opportunity to connect what each region offers, needs and imagines building together. The results pointed to concrete lines of Europe–Latin America cooperation: living labs and demonstration centres, shared digital platforms, an IURC scientific network, scholarships and training.

A technical visit to Terras Gauda winery was followed by an institutional visit to Valença, where the mayor and deputy mayor welcomed the group for an evening walk through the Valença Fortress and the Tui–Valença Eurocity — a living example of what cross-border cooperation looks like on the ground.

Day 3 | Territorial valorisation, identity and a farewell on the banks of the Miño

The final working day opened with a territorial visit along the Portuguese bank — Castelo de Melgaço and the Solar do Alvarinho — before crossing to Arbo and its Lamprey and Wine Interpretation Centre. The centre, housed in a 1920s school building funded by Galician emigrants to Cuba, holds a municipal wine bar showcasing local Rías Baixas wineries — a tangible link between heritage, gastronomy and territorial identity.

The final working session, held at the Monção Habitat Criativo business incubator, focused on territorial valorisation through agri-food, gastronomy and wine. A participatory dynamic on ‘Territories with Identity’ crystallised the group’s shared vision: a territory defined by environment, biodiversity, cross-border culture, water and human capital, facing the challenges of climate change and governance — and pointing, as a priority next step, to a pilot project and a formalised cooperation agreement between the partners. As Nuno Brito of IPVC put it during the day’s session: “This is not a postcard, this is a living landscape.”

The mission closed connecting to the Alvarinho/Albariño wine culture on both banks of the Miño, reinforcing agri-food, gastronomy and wine as drivers of territorial valorisation.

About the IURC LAC Advanced Cooperation Missions

IURC Latin America and the Caribbean, part of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, connects cities and regions from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe to co-create sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven solutions. Through peer-to-peer exchange and partnerships, the programme contributes to improving citizens’ quality of life while strengthening global cooperation.

Advanced Cooperation Missions are on-site technical visits that build on the IURC programme’s collaborative and knowledge-sharing approach. They provide cities and regions with the opportunity to further develop the themes explored during the online meetings of the Communities of Practice, refine their cooperation action plans and gain first-hand experience of best practices implemented by the hosting city or region.