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It is a cause of great satisfaction for me to visit Porto, a city that is the daughter of the river and of the sea, a city that grows more beautiful and modern and prepares for its future without destroying the riches of its traditions and of its historic heritage.

“Porto – city of light and granite”, in the words of the poet José Gomes Ferreira who was born in the old rua das Musas, on June 9th, exactly 106 years ago, to whom I pay tribute.

This year the official commemorations of the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities take place in this city of Porto.

A word of just recognition is due to the Porto City Council, in the person of its mayor, for the co-operation provided in the organisation of these commemorations.

I would also like to express my thanks for the way in which the city has welcomed us. We feel at home in this City Hall. Hospitality is an ancient tradition of the peoples of the North, who never shut their doors to those who come in peace. We do not feel to be strangers in Porto, especially on days of festival and joy, such as today and tomorrow.

On choosing Porto as the stage for the Portugal Day commemorations, the first to be held since I took office as President of the Republic, I wanted to make clear my profound respect and esteem for this city and its peoples.

But I wanted this choice to be something more that a symbolic gesture of a liking for the inhabitants of Porto. In selecting Porto as the city to host Portugal Day there is a more profound sentiment that I want to underscore.

At a time when there is so much talk of the need of the Portuguese to have confidence in themselves, the people of the North, and of Porto in particular, are a living example of those who have no doubt as to their capacity and strength to win.

At a time when we are all aware of the difficulties and challenges that Portugal is facing, the people of this city are a model that we must all bear in mind. The people of Porto have known adversity, though they have never let themselves be defeated by it. They have defended freedom because they have never been afraid of being free.

Here, in the city of Porto, entrepreneurship is neither a vain word nor a preconceived idea. The vitality of the business fabric of this region, the sense of autonomy of the organisations of the civil society, the dedication to work and the generosity of its peoples, the development seen here, these are all fine examples of the Porto spirit.

It is this spirit that I wish to underline. By choosing Porto as the city to host the June 10th commemorations, the first of my term of office, it was this message, simple but profound, that I wanted to leave for every Portuguese: the spirit of the people of Porto is one of the greatest gifts of this our Portugal.