The meeting reinforced the relationship of partnership and proximity that the municipality and ACIF have always developed with a view to promoting local commerce and the municipality's business community.

‘We currently have a number of very important initiatives on the ground for the future of commerce in the city centre, such as the Bairro Comercial Digital project, but there are other dynamics with companies that we will continue to work on,’ said Mayor Mário Passos.

The mayor, who was accompanied by Economy councillor Augusto Lima, also challenged the Commercial and Industrial Association and traditional commerce to look at the new urban centre and bring new impulses so that the municipality is able to attract more and more visitors.

The new president of the ACIF, Hélder Costa, emphasised his desire to implement new dynamics that are capable of responding to his members' questions. ‘In the municipality we have a strategic and important partner with whom we want to work and articulate the realisation of many of the measures we have committed to implementing,’ said Hélder Costa.

It's worth remembering that ACIF represents around 700 traders and industrialists in the municipality, a membership base that the organisation's new governing bodies aim to expand.