Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Since the beginning of my first mandate that I have given particular regard to the role played by entrepreneurs in the Portuguese communities spread across the whole World. I have witnessed your efforts and your merit and thus the reason why I am so very pleased to join you at the closure of this Conference.

Portugal and Europe are facing an especially complex period. A crucial period for the correction of financial imbalances, and for new paths to be found to re-establish economic growth and job creation as early as possible.

A period when the European Union has to strengthen the solidarity and cohesion mechanisms amongst its Member States and, at the same time, clearly view its positioning in a more than ever global and interdependent economy, and in which new international activity centres, markets and players attain an ever greater influence.

It is in this context that we must appreciate the extraordinary potential of our Diaspora of many millions of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants spread across the five continents, and the more than 250 million speakers of the Portuguese language all over the World.

And how can we carry this out?

Portugal must assume and take advantage of its central strategic position as Europe’s portal to both the North and the South Atlantic. A position that can be termed as a real opportunity for all the entrepreneurs of many of the Portuguese communities to access the single European market, a market with 500 million consumers with considerable purchasing power. But which is equally a privileged position to exploit, from Portugal, the opportunities that arise outside Europe, both in the Portuguese speaking countries and in other markets.

To reach this target it is imperative that Portugal continues to develop a true and consistent effort in the promotion of its exports and in attracting investment, within the framework of a vast process in the restructuring of our economy, that it invests in the valuation of private enterprise, in internationalization, and that it includes innovation and creativity as decisive components of external competitiveness.

This said, it is fundamental that the Portuguese of the Diaspora become the prime ambassadors and spokesmen of the image of Portugal in the World.

Our Country is, nowadays, a stable and consolidated democracy, which in the last three decades invested in infrastructures that can and must be rendered profitable, that wishes to take advantage of the crisis to create an opportunity to rectify, once and for all, its financial situation, and to introduce reforms that guarantee the competitiveness of its economy.

A Country that has extraordinary resources and potential, whether in strategic sectors such as woodlands, the economy of the sea, quality tourism and information and communication technologies, or in traditional sectors that have gained a large measure of renewal and innovation, such as footwear, cork, furniture and wine, as well as a new highly qualified generation of dynamic and creative entrepreneurs.

I am certain that Portugal can count upon the entrepreneurs in the Diaspora to disseminate its natural beauties, the richness of its almost millenary history and its cultural heritage, and to assert the economic value of our language. And, equally, to impart that Portugal is an attractive investment destination and a source of high quality products that deserve being known and publicized.

It is important, in turn, that Portugal is aware of how to value the Portuguese that reside abroad as an example of success, of free enterprise and of integration in different societies and cultures.

The Portuguese are recognized in their welcoming countries as the best at work and in the world of business. It is thus crucial that the Portuguese authorities and public administration, at every level, openly, effectively and transparently correspond to their requests for information and to their investment projects.

It is important that private investment, such as is already the case with exports, is considered a propelling force for economic recovery, particularly the investment required to reinforce the installed capacity for the production of goods that compete with foreign production. It accrues that economic recovery is nowadays a decisive factor for the Country’s external credibility.

On the other hand, it is necessary that entrepreneurs in the Portuguese speaking communities are able to operate as a network, cooperating amongst them, becoming associated, as well, to entrepreneurs established in Portugal. This is the only way where each one can achieve his maximum potential, taking advantage of the resources, the experience and the talent of them all.

In this context, the promotion of regular meetings, in Portugal, of the Portuguese that, in foreign parts, have made a success of their activities as entrepreneurs, and the widening of these meetings to other Portuguese speaking entrepreneurs that may eventually invest in Portugal, or prefer Portuguese goods or marques in the countries where they are established, is an initiative that deserves being emphasized.

It was precisely with the intent to strengthen the bonds between Portugal and the company owners and entrepreneurs in the Portuguese communities that I promoted the launching, in 2007, of the award, by COTEC, of the “Innovative Enterprising in the Portuguese Diaspora” Prize, which will celebrate its 5th edition this year. This Prize has brought to the knowledge of the Portuguese the extraordinary paths in the lives of their fellow countrymen who have asserted themselves in the most demanding societies in the World. I thus wish to renew my invitation to the entrepreneurs in the Diaspora to take part in the Prize’s next editions.

Before ending, I have one last word for you. The way in which Portugal is complying with the Adjustment Programme established with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund has been the object of very positive assessments. Portuguese citizens are making a notable effort in re-establishing the financial equilibrium of our Country. An important social harmonization agreement was reached, just a few weeks ago, between Government, Unions and Employer’s Associations, which is greatly revealing of the drive and sense of responsibility that are overriding Portuguese society.

I count upon you to become primary witnesses and that you transmit with confidence that Portugal is complying with its international commitments, and is carrying out reforms intended to improve the operation of its economy and to resume a course of sustainable growth.

To the organizers and participants in this Conference I wish to render my thanks for this initiative, for your presence and for your contributing towards the assertion of Portugal in the World.

Thank you very much