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We are delighted to welcome to Portugal the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs. Ani Bambang Yudhoyono and the illustrious retinue that accompanies you on this State Visit.

A Visit that, held fifty four years after the visit to Lisbon of the first Indonesian President and founder of the Indonesian Nation, is in effect a very special moment in the strengthening of the relationship between Portugal and Indonesia.

I hope that Your Excellency’s visit may also allow, in some way, retribution of the warm hospitality tendered us in Jakarta, in 2012, in that which, in its turn, was the first visit of a Portuguese Head of State to your Country. I equally recall, with great emotion, the particularly symbolic moment of our first meeting in Dili, also in 2012, during the ceremonies celebrating the tenth anniversary of the independence of East Timor, and of the inauguration of the President of the East Timor People’s Republic.

These moments are undoubtedly the true turning of a page in the relations between our two countries.

Mister President,

Backed by a history that takes us back five centuries, the relationship between Portugal and Indonesia is nowadays marked by a new dynamism and by a reciprocal drive in the building of a relation that is strong, ambitious and that looks forward into the future.

The fruitful political contacts that resulted from the visit of the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs in January ultimo, are a tribute to our long past friendship and to the wish for a mutual awareness between our countries.

The Indonesian Nation has led the path to a remarkable development and to a heightened rate of economic growth due to the consolidation of democratic ideals, tolerance and political and social pluralism. Indonesia is today the sixteenth largest world economy and the second economy with the fastest growth among the members of the G-20.

In a region of delicate balances, the Indonesian drive and leadership in the midst of ASEAN have had a relevant role towards the building of political stability and to the deepening of a community spirit amongst the nations. It pleases me to salute Your Excellency on the way how, throughout ten years, you were able to lead the internal processes of democratic consolidation and economic progress and to assert your Country internationally.

In this theme of international assertion, we view with particular interest the growing proximity of Indonesia with the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries. A closer collaboration between Indonesia and CPLP, as well as the support that is being provided by Indonesia to East Timor’s becoming a member of ASEAN, are clear instances of the common interests that link us.

As I was able to confirm in 2012, Portugal and Indonesia are more than ever mindful of the reality of each country and of the regions in which they belong. The coming into force, in May ultimo, of the Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and Indonesia will, I trust, provide a significant contribution in this field, furthering the identification of opportunities and a mutually advantageous cooperation.

Since there still exists a wide potential to be exploited in our economic relationship, clear signs are being ascertained regarding the reciprocal interest of Portuguese and Indonesian entrepreneurs in the development of partnerships and in the intensifying of trade and investment flows.

Several Portuguese trade missions enabled the increase in visibility and the strengthening of our country’s profile in Indonesia. This State Visit will surely contribute for the same to happen with Indonesia’s profile in Portugal.

I would like to address a word of welcome to the companies that are included in Your Excellency’s retinue. I expect that the contacts held in Portugal will be fruitful, such as was the case when I travelled to Jakarta in 2012, with the contacts established by the entrepreneurial retinue that accompanied me. I hope that the Entrepreneurial Forum held today will have, been, in this perspective, particularly useful.

Mister President,

The objective to reinforce our cooperation in all areas is already showing promising results. From culture and conservation of heritage to partnerships between companies, from good coordination in multilateral issues to cooperation in the areas of energy and natural resources, there are many examples that are expressive of the new dynamism in our relationship.

Contacts between our peoples are aged many centuries. It happens, however, that only in the last few years have Portugal and Indonesia started to become mutually acquainted, and this can thus be termed as the beginning of a new stage. Your Excellency’s State Visit, with which I once more express my greatest pleasure, mirrors the political determination in the strengthening of the bonds of friendship and cooperation that link us.

It is in this spirit that I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health and happiness of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mrs. Ani Bambang Yudhoyono, to the prosperity of the friendly people of Indonesia and to the future of the relations between both our countries.