Catalonia and the Osaka Prefecture signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 10 September 2026. The agreement was signed by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and Osaka Vice Governor, Yamaguchi Nobuhiko, and is intended to remain in force until 2029, according to both sides. The aim is to deepen institutional, economic and scientific ties and expand exchanges in trade, research, health, culture and tourism.
The Generalitat described the memorandum as a first step towards a broader partnership. Specific operational measures are to be worked out in follow-up negotiations. These include bilateral delegation visits and joint projects in Research and Innovation as well as closer exchanges in the health sector. Detailed project lists, financial commitments or a binding timetable beyond 2029 are not currently available.
The agreement builds on a longer-term rapprochement between Catalonia and Japan. In 2025 and 2026, this was highlighted by the Any Catalunya-Japó programme and preparations for Catalonia’s presence at Expo in Osaka . The Catalan government sees the cooperation as a way to diversify its external economic relations and strengthen research links in technology-intensive sectors. Osaka Prefecture views the partnership as an opportunity to deepen economic ties with Europe and expand scientific networks.
The framework is now in place, but key questions about implementation remain open: the universities, research institutes, hospitals and companies that will take part, and the formats for their involvement, have not yet been specified. The allocation of any funding, milestones for individual projects and evaluation criteria have also not been published and are to be defined in subsequent agreements.
According to the Generalitat and the prefecture, this is a political and programmatic declaration of intent intended to provide a legal framework for sector-specific agreements at working level. The full text of the memorandum was not publicly available at the time of publication; the institutions involved said they would provide further details later.
The agreement underlines Catalonia’s external economic profile and Osaka’s search for closer links in Europe. The partnership’s impact on the everyday work of businesses, research institutions and health services will be seen in the implementation projects negotiated in the coming months.
Editor: Clara Simonichek (Article created with AI assistance).