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US Delegation visits the Basque Country as part of the “Learning Tour 2017” initiative

By the Delegation of the Basque Country to the United States

The Learning Tour 2017 initiative, promoted by the Basque Government, aimed to showcase the most outstanding and remarkable aspects of the Basque Country and to promote the Basque sustainable development model.

The delegation was made up of a group of seven US institutional, economic, and academic representatives, who were accompanied by the General Secretary for External Action, Marian Elorza, the Director of Foreign Affairs, Leyre Madariaga, and the Basque Country’s Delegate to the USA, Ander Caballero.

During the five-day trip, the delegation had the opportunity to discover Basque sustainable development for themselves thanks to a packed schedule that included visits and meetings in the research, health, economic, and institutional fields, among others.

The delegation met with the Speaker of the Basque Parliament, visited the Gernika Assembly House, and learned about the Basque Economic Agreement. In the field of innovation and development, the group visited the Zamudio Technology Park, AIC-Automotive, Tecnalia, Tknika, DigiPen, BCCL, Basque Culinary Center, and Donostia University Hospital. The program also included a tour to learn about the urban regeneration of Bilbao and visits to the Urdaibai Biosphere Centre, the Guggenheim Museum, Rioja Alavesa, and the Albaola project.

This year’s tour was the III Euskadi Learning Tour to take place since the Basque Government implemented the initiative as part of its Basque Country internationalization framework strategy, which identifies the countries considered to be preferential and strategic for the interests of the Basque Country, as is the case of the United States. The first learning tour took place in 2014 with the visit of a Chilean delegation, which was followed by a Mexican delegation in 2015.  

Compliments of the Delegation of the Basque Country to the United States,  a member of the EACCNY