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

Mr. President, Excellency
Mrs. Ana Paula dos Santos
Honourable Authorities,
Illustrious Guests,

My wife and I are greatly honoured by welcoming you, Mr. President, and Mrs. Ana Paula dos Santos, as well as the renowned retinue that accompanies you on this Visit to Portugal.

It is always a motive of great pleasure to welcome amongst us those that are nearer to us and that share with us so many and such deep bonds of fraternal friendship.

I allow myself a personal note to recall Your Excellency’s first State Visit to Portugal, in 1987, when I was Prime Minister. At the time Angola was living the horror of civil war and at the head of our agenda was our concern with the paths to peace. It was a historic Visit, which permitted a qualitative leap in the relationship between Angola and Portugal.

Your Excellency is a witness to the fact that Portugal always sided with the people of Angola in support of national reconciliation and with their efforts to attain a durable peace.

We are very pleased to ascertain that peace, stability and democracy are nowadays decisive values, which the Angolans are not disposed to let go of, and which they consider indispensable for the dreams of progress and development to come true.

This in itself was confirmed by the very successful and amply participated legislative elections which occurred just a few months ago, a sign of confidence of the Angolan people in the future of their Nation.

We are equally pleased to highlight the growing assertion of Angola in the international scene, of which its role in the resolution of conflicts is a clear picture. Angola is nowadays an accepted and respected regional and international performer.

There are of course great challenges that still require being faced. The problems with the reconstruction of a country with Angola’s territorial area, with the fight against poverty, or the guarantee of conditions of health and education for all the people, are ambitious tasks which demand not only very large resources but also ample time for their consolidation.

One thing that Your Excellency and the people of Angola can be sure of: the friendship, solidarity and the support of Portugal and of the Portuguese will not be lacking to overcome such challenges, to the limit of our possibilities and with due respect for the democratic options of a free and sovereign Angola.

Mister President,

The relationship between our two countries is based on a long common History, as well as in the sharing, with our partners in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), of a vast cultural and linguistic heritage.

Our being part of a linguistic universe of more than 240 million people spread over five continents, is a prime strategic asset, which we must use in defence of our positions and objectives within a strongly competitive global world.

Positions and objectives whose defence greatly benefits from the political and diplomatic cooperation between our States and with their active participation in different areas of regional integration, such as the European Union, the African Union, Mercosur, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or in global organizations such as the United Nations.

For this reason we have propounded the promotion of the Portuguese language as a priority item in the programme of the Portuguese Presidency of CPLP.

Our common interests oblige us to work jointly for the growing international assertion of the Portuguese language, particularly in the case of the United Nations, where its statute as an official language has long been justified.

It will be Angola’s turn to follow us in the Presidency of CPLP from July of next year. This happy circumstance recommends a close and joint coordination of positions, in order that the outgoing Presidency may contribute towards the success of the incoming Presidency and that this may duly follow up the work that had previously been carried out.

The relevance of the role of the CPLP is very visible in situations such as that which is being lived in Guinea-Bissau. Portugal and Angola stand side by side with Guinea-Bissau in this difficult moment. We share the firm conviction that it is indispensable to preserve the constitutional order. Only thus will the political and military leaders be able to measure up to the hopes expressed by the Guineans, in the recent and exemplary legislative elections. It is time to substitute conflict with the economic and social development that the Guineans have for long had a right to.

Mister President,

This visit happens at a time when the relationship between Portugal and Angola crosses a strongly dynamic period and during which contacts, mobility of entrepreneurs, projects and partnerships between our countries and enterprises are intensified. The situation which both countries are going through is not alien to this reality.

Angola has recorded in recent years an unprecedented rate of economic growth, which has permitted it to launch an encompassing programme of national reconstruction and to address growing resources to social and human development.

I want to spiritedly salute the Angolan authorities for the investment which is being carried out in the training and valuation of the country’s human capital assets, in the creation of employment and in the improvement of the people’s living conditions. An investment that could never be accomplished without the pillars of peace, stability and democracy.

The improvement in infrastructure, the encouragement of entrepreneurial activity and the strengthening of the institutions have equally contributed to reinforce Angola’s international image as an attractive investment destination.

Many may have been astonished with the entrepreneurial capability and the ambition for economic and social development of Angola. Portugal and the Portuguese were not surprised, since they are well aware of the Angolan reality. Our enterprises are deeply rooted in Angola and have been an active and relevant part in the development of the country.

Angola has for many years been one of Portugal’s more important trading partners and one of the main destinations of Portuguese external investments. We have equally witnessed a crossing of entrepreneurial partnerships and investments in both directions.

Mister President,

We are living a period of many challenges.

One of the lessons from the current world crisis is that no country or economy is immune to its consequences, a reflection of the interdependency which characterizes the period of globalization in which we now live. International cooperation and agreement are, for this reason, indispensable, in order to recover confidence, reactivate the productive fabric, create employment, attend to the need of the less favoured strata and, at the same time, thwart the nefarious temptations of protectionism.

We must thus learn how to take advantage of the solid historical, cultural and human relationship that links us, of our synergies and complementarities, to overcome the difficulties placed by the current international context.

Mister President,

Contacts between Portugal and Angola have largely surpassed the institutional sphere. Our people, students, teachers, writers, musicians, workers, entrepreneurs keep a daily intense and dynamic network of human, cultural, political and economic bonds, which promote cooperation and affinities which is the States’ role to pamper.

The dynamics of these contacts, the wealth of all that links us, the objective reality of our interest demand from us political will and strategic vision, and obliges us to regard the future of our partnership with ambition.

I would be very pleased, Mister President, that, such as happened with your first State Visit to Portugal in 1987, which opened the doors to a new era in the relations between our two Countries, this your second Visit would be retained in the History of our relationship as the time when two adult and trusting nations, at peace with their History, having ascertained all that brings them together and the advantages that can be derived from this in the face of the challenges placed by today’s world, decide to invest in a new stage of relationship, a true Strategic Partnership.

A Partnership based upon regular dialogue, which involves the structures of State and which is equally widened to the civil society. A Partnership which embraces all the fields in which our relations are asserted. A Partnership which allows facing and resolving, with a vision of the future, the challenges deriving from the intensity of a relationship which we wish should daily become stronger and more fraternal.

I am certain that this is the best answer we can give to what our peoples expect from us.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health of President José Eduardo dos Santos, to the growing prosperity of our brother Angolans and to the strengthening of the fraternal and friendly relations and partnership between Portugal and Angola.