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

Your Excellency President Abdul Kalam,
Honourable Authorities,
Distinguished Guests,

I would like to start by saying how honoured I was to receive Your Excellency’s invitation to visit India, and extending my personal thanks to you.

This visit reflects the excellent political relations between our countries and peoples, and the increasingly relevant position that we wish India to occupy within the framework of Portugal’s foreign partnerships.

The hospitality we have received clearly mirrors the qualities of the Indian people, the ties of special friendship that unite us and the desire to deepen the dialogue and co-operation between Portugal and India.

The Portuguese have a great admiration for India, for her culture and for her traditions, an admiration that has been nourished by contacts over several centuries, which marked our identity and had a decisive influence on the world in which we live.

In addition to its historic and cultural heritage, India has many other reasons to be proud of. The world’s biggest democracy, one of the world economies showing the highest growth rates, the growing internationalisation of its economy, its remarkable capacity for technological adaptation and the entrepreneurship of its peoples make of India an example for its response to the challenges of globalisation and assure it an increasingly prominent role on the international stage.

I understand that the consolidation of the progress seen in India has benefited a great deal from the wisdom displayed by you, President Abdul Kalam, in the exercise of your eminent duties.

The threats of today’s world, such as terrorism, climate change or poverty, mean that those who believe in the values of democracy, freedom and regard for human rights have to co-operate in joining forces to create a better, fairer world. That is the reason why Portugal stood among the first countries to declare its support for India’s candidacy for a permanent seat on the United Nations’ Security Council.

Portugal is a friend of India, has an open, modern economy, is a member of the European Union and of the Euro Zone, with direct access to a large internal European market of 500 million consumers and excellent relations in the various continents, especially with the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa and with Brazil. These are markets and countries with which India may wish to establish close relations, countries where Portuguese companies are firmly rooted and have profound knowledge of the local situation.

In the globalised world in which we live, no country can achieve balanced, sustainable development in isolation. Today’s world forces us to live in interdependence and to build new alliances with those partners with which we share values and objectives.

Our countries have close and solid political relations and there is nothing to prevent us from adding to these a dynamic, fruitful economic relationship. It is clear for me that a vast field of unexplored opportunities exists in the relationship between Portugal and India.

Contributing to building up a relationship with a future between Portugal and India is a major objective in my State visit. The business delegation that accompanies me, comprising leading representatives of several of the most dynamic sectors of the Portuguese economy, is a valuable asset. This is also true about the personalities of the cultural, academic and scientific world who have been promoting closer relations between our countries.

Mister President,

It was under the impetus of the Portuguese presidency that the first Summit took place in Lisbon between the European Union and India in 2000. Six years later, the European Union is India’s biggest trading partner, and the interests that we share go far beyond mere economic co-operation.

During the second half of this year, when the next European Union-India Summit will take place, it will again be Portugal’s turn to preside over the Council of the European Union. We would like this Summit to lend a new drive to the deepening of our strategic partnership. It will be followed by a high-level meeting between our two countries, which, I am certain, will further consolidate our relations and the progress seen in the meantime.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before closing, I would ask you all to join me in a toast to the health of President Abdul Kalam, whom I expect to see shortly in Portugal, to the prosperity of the Indian People and to a strengthening of the friendship that unites India and Portugal.