Mr. Secretary General
Heads of State and Government,
Dear Friends,

Let me start by warmly welcome you all to Portugal and to our capital, Lisbon. Portugal receives you all as friends and as allies.
This means that your security is our concern as our security is your concern. There is no stronger link between countries and people.

This is our commitment. This is our spirit. Let’s not forget it when we start discussing the future of the Alliance, our Alliance.

More than ever, the world needs, and the security of our citizens requires a credible Atlantic Alliance. This implies an Alliance that is more efficient, better prepared to anticipate and to respond to the challenges and to the new threats that we face.

We also need an Alliance open to a fruitful cooperation with its partners and other international organizations towards a more stable and safer world.

The new Strategic Concept, the anti-missile system, the reform of our organization, the new package on capabilities, the strategic cooperation with Russia, the partnership with Afghanistan, the cooperation with the European Union are all of them part to the process of modernization we are all committed to.

Le Portugal, nation atlantique à vocation universelle, pays fondateur, renouvelle son ferme engagement en faveur de cette Alliance plus forte et plus crédible. C’est un engagement dont on a fait preuve à plusieurs reprises et qui nous a amené, dès le début, à mettre notre position géostratégique, nos moyens et nos capacités au service de l’Alliance et de notre projet commun de paix et de stabilité.

Le fleuve qui nous regarde a vu partir les premiers navigateurs européens á la recherche d’un monde qui dépassait nos frontières plus immédiates. That was the beginning of modern globalization. I hope this scenario will be a source of inspiration for your work
I wish us all a fruitful meeting. I am sure that Lisbon will be remembered as a landmark in the History of a better and stronger Atlantic Alliance.

In Portugal we say to our dearest friends “a minha casa é a tua casa”, “ma maison est la tienne”, “my home is your home”. Nothing could be more appropriate to say today, among friends and allies.

Muito obrigado, Thank you, Merci bien.