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

Highnesses,
Authorities,
Honourable guests,

It is a great honour for me and my wife to welcome Your Highnesses, as well as the renowned deputation which accompanies you on this your first State Visit to Portugal.

Contacts between Portugal and the civilizations of the Persian Gulf go back to the XVI century. The Straight of Hormuz and the maritime access to the Persian Gulf were described as the “third key” of the Portuguese presence in the East, along with Goa and Malacca.

The progress that resulted from that fruitful interchange marked the History of Humanity, as well as records that persist until today, of our architecture, our language and our temperament.

Portugal is proud of the universal heritage bequeathed it by History and which has made us a people who are easily adaptable and integrated, making friends in differing foreign parts and frequently performing the role of intermediaries between cultures and interests.

As a result of its History, Qatar has equally asserted itself as a nation particularly dedicated to the promotion of bonds between peoples and cultures.

It is thus not surprising that the understanding between us should be easy and natural.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, in 1982, we have built a relation of solid friendship, based upon mutual respect and on a cooperation which has spread to new fields.

The interests and objectives we share are many, especially in relation to various topics included in the regional and global agenda.

Qatar is nowadays a relevant and influent protagonist, both in its region and internationally. The moderate and active role it performs in the Arab world and within the framework of the Middle East Peace Process, as well as its example as a multi-cultural and multi-ethnical society, is an inestimable contribution for bringing peace to an area which is crucial for international security.

The Middle East and relations with the Arab world have always filled a prominent place in Portuguese external policy. The geographic continuity between Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East and their political, economic and cultural interdependency implies that whatever takes place in one of the regions inevitably affects the other.

We believe that peace and security in the Middle East are central to the economic and social development of the region’s people and countries.

We thus support all the efforts that target stability, dialogue and the approach of the positions amongst the parties. A support which is clearly reflected in the presence of a Portuguese contingent in the UNIFIL forces.

It is imperative that conditions are created to consolidate the cease-fire and bring about a deep, broad and durable process of reconciliation, which guarantees, to Israelis and Palestinians, a future of peace and economic and social development. We consider that the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet’s Road Map to Peace provide opportunities which must not be laid to waste.

Your Highnesses’ visit is an outstanding illustration of the quality of the political relationship between Portugal and Qatar and of our common determination to strengthen our cooperation, specifically in the economic and entrepreneurial fields.

Portugal is today a modern Country, stable, with an open economy, a member of the EURO, included in the area of opportunities which is represented by the European single market. Our country has, nowadays, relevant technological capabilities in fields such as alternative energies and telecommunications, areas of great potential in a perspective of the development of our cooperation with Qatar.

Portugal also has enviable conditions to act as a source of storage and distribution of fossil energy resources in the European area. And it also has climatic and scenic conditions which make it one of the most searched for world tourist destinations.

We also have a favourable environment for foreign investors, as well as an entrepreneurial society searching for internationalization and for diversification of its partnerships, with a privileged knowledge of fast developing markets such as is the case with Portuguese speaking countries, in Africa and Latin America.

In its turn, Qatar, as a result of an ambitious plans of economic diversification which involves, in addition to the petrochemical and natural gas sectors, the development of the financial, tourist, and services sectors, is recording one of the highest per capita income growth in the world.

The component of sustainability included in its model of economic development, through investments in health, education and infrastructures, as well as in the development of international partnerships in strategic sectors, renders Qatar as an attractive market for Portuguese entrepreneurs.

Due to its geographical location, stability and external openness, Qatar is well placed to operate as a bridge for the regional expansion of Portuguese corporations.

The agreements which will be signed during this Visit, the planned entrepreneurial contacts, as well as the forthcoming opening of Embassies in both countries will, I am certain, provide a greater impulse to the consolidation and expansion of our political, cultural, commercial and economic relationship.

Highnesses,

Portugal and Qatar are two countries desirous of building a solid, ambitious and mutually advantageous relationship, which will avail itself of the complementarities which characterize us.

I thus end, reasserting my great satisfaction in receiving Your Highness and Wife in Portugal, certain that this Visit will be a historic marker in the path of reinforced cooperation which we both wish to tread.

Thank you very much.