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Honourable Speaker of the National Parliament,
Honourable Prime-Minister,
Honourable President of the Oriente Foundation,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In June of 2007, I opened, in Washington, a great exhibition dedicated to the Portuguese presence in the World in the 16th and 17th centuries, and to the relevance of the Portuguese Discoveries in the assessment of the Modern World. In the view of its organizers, this confirmed Portugal’s role as the connecting link of numerous cultures and, more than that, as the predecessor of globalization.

I was able to find, in that exhibition, proof of the intense cultural Exchange resulting from the Portuguese maritime adventure. Whether East, West, North or South, no part of the globe was sufficiently remote for all those who, in the words of Fernando Pessoa, “carried on beyond the Bojador”.

I stated, at the time, that “for any country, History must be a source of inspiration for the future, at the cost of it’s becoming just a good story. Those who preceded us deserve more than that. And so will those who come after us”.

For this reason I was very pleased to be invited to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Oriente Museum. It contains a remarkable collection of works of art which witness what was the first experiment in globalization, proudly implemented by the Portuguese.

Through the Oriente Foundation, that during its 20 years of existence pursued the dream which has today become true, the ancient Cold Storehouse of the Alcântara docks is reborn with a new function and a new dignity. We won’t find codfish here anymore, but I am certain that our spirit will leave nourished with all the “delicacies” which can be viewed in the Museum’s rooms.

Lisbon will now have available an area which allows both the Portuguese and foreign visitors to better learn our History, and the importance that the Portuguese Discoveries had for the various parts of the world to meet and become acquainted.

But the function of this exhibition is not extinguished in History. The Oriente Museum will allow a cultural approach between the West and the East. It will also allow knowing what still separates us and the much that brings us together, building bridges between distant cultures.

We are witnessing a new wave from the East. India and China are occupying their niche in the international context and their relevance is today impossible to ignore. This cultural area which is now being opened will surely be the stage of many initiatives which will allow us to better become acquainted with our Asian partners.

I congratulate Dr. Carlos Monjardino, as President of the Oriente Foundation, for the perseverance which, throughout 20 years, led to construing the collection which we are viewing in this magnificent area, excellently refurbished.

The Portugal of the Discoveries was an enterprising Portugal, a courageous country, a nation which produced, searched and disseminated Knowledge. Even if that were the sole image retained by Portuguese and foreign visitors from the Oriente Museum, its benefit would already be great. But this does not just deal with the past; it also has to do with the present and the future of a mutually enriching meeting of civilizations, in which Portugal had a significant role.

Maybe, better than ever, we now know that Knowledge is the great source of progress and that the knowledge of others is, after all, the best way to defeat the fears that lead us so often to ignore or reject those that are different.

Congratulations to the Oriente Foundation, congratulations to the city of Lisbon for the opening of the Oriente Museum.