On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the Canary Islands hosted the 2nd edition of the Ibero-African Business Forum (IBAFCAN), an initiative led by the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) in collaboration with the Canary Islands government. The objective is to strengthen the archipelago's strategic position as a gateway between Europe, Africa, and Latin America, while fostering economic connectivity and international partnerships.

Among the highlights of this edition, the intervention of Dr. Babo Amadou Ba, Director General of the Vocational and Technical Training Financing Fund (3FPT) of Senegal, particularly garnered attention. Invited to the closing ceremony, he presented Senegal's ambitious vision for vocational and technical training, as outlined in the 2025 Transformation Agenda.

Dr. Ba highlighted the national strategy aimed at strengthening youth skills, based on innovation, technology, and adaptation to the needs of productive sectors. He emphasized the importance of creating bridges between African, European, and Latin American training systems, believing that such cooperation can address "major global challenges" related to employment, competitiveness, and economic inclusion.

His speech was welcomed by the participants, notably by Agustín Manrique de Lara, technical secretary of the Ibero-African Forum. The latter expressed his enthusiasm for the prospects of collaboration between the ports of Gran Canaria, various Spanish foundations, and Senegalese institutions, particularly for the training of young people in technical, logistics, and maritime professions.

The forum brought together a large African delegation, including representatives from Angola, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Mali, Ghana, Guinea, Egypt and Tunisia. Several high-level figures were also present.

The Ibero-African Forum thus confirms its role as a strategic platform to stimulate economic exchanges, encourage innovation and bring continents closer together through training and human development.