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Just as I did during my first mandate as President of the Republic, I now keep the commitment to visit regularly the Portuguese communities residing abroad. So it was in former years, in Luxembourg, in Brazil, in Germany, in Andorra, in California. It is then with great pleasure and emotion that this year I have the opportunity of coming to you, here in Australia.

I warmly welcome all the compatriots present in this reception, in Sydney, so many thousands of kilometres away from the land of our roots.

Placed in a beautiful natural setting, Sydney has many emblematic constructions, such as its famous Bridge, the Harbour Bridge, or the Opera House.

The process of building the Sydney Bridge, which was concluded in 1932, was a very complex one and demanded great imagination and a willingness to take risks. The fact that, at the time, people were living through difficulties and economic depression was not an impediment to go ahead with the project. On the contrary, it was a stimulus and an incentive to speed the work.

Also the construction of the Opera entailed many setbacks and problems, but no one, at any moment, thought of giving up.

From these two examples, we can draw several lessons. To begin with, the choice of a foreigner to design the Opera shows that the Australian people have a spirit that is open to the world, they are proud of their country, and still willing to welcome and promote those coming from other places.

Not just the building of the Bridge, but also the construction of the Opera House, were fraught with difficulties, but the Australian people never gave up or lowered their arms. In times of great adversity, they showed braveness and were not afraid of taking risks.

Australians have an ambition that is a large as this country-continent. They turned inhospitable land into cities of extraordinary beauty. They overcame the aridity of the place and the roughness of the climate. They built, in what was then a distant place in the globe, a civilisation that is unique, that collects the contribution of other cultures, to achieve a remarkable mix between deep-rooted local traditions and what comes from outside the continent.

It is not surprising then, that many Portuguese have decided to come to Australia. Our community enjoys, here as well, a justified prestige, precisely because of its dynamism, its commitment to work, its willingness to take risks and an ambition for adventure. While being faithful to their origins, the Portuguese and those of Portuguese descent in Australia are builders of bridges among cultures.

I am proud of this community and, as President of the Republic, I have clearly shown how much I admire the countless examples the Portuguese Diaspora gives to our fellow-citizens.

I have mentioned, on several occasions, that it is of the utmost importance to change the way we look at the Portuguese communities of the Diaspora. The rhetoric of saudade has to give way to more concrete actions, clear gestures that will show the respect and gratitude Portugal has for its children the world over and, at the same time, involve these communities in a common project. That common project, dear friends and compatriots, is Portugal.

In an international environment of economic crisis, Portugal is now going through difficulties we are all aware of. But it is, undoubtedly, a place of opportunities, a land where there is room for ambition and courage. Quite often, the potential of our country and the deep transformations it went through over the last decades are virtually ignored in other countries.

Portugal’s growing assertiveness, just to give one example, in the field of science and innovation, recovering in a few years a gap of several decades, must be known internationally.

In my speech this year on the commemorations of the 25th of April, I made clear the fact that it is necessary that all Portuguese contribute to projecting this new reality to the outside world. And I stressed, precisely, the invaluable role the Communities of the Diaspora may have in this plan to assert Portugal’s international credibility.

The community of the Portuguese and those of Portuguese descent residing in Australia, through the prestige that has been able to win and the example it gives to the world, is also called upon to participate in this patriotic task that will enable, at least, to correct misconceptions and preconceived ideas that still exist concerning our country.

I appeal to all gathered here today that, in spite of the physical distance, you rediscover your land of origin, get better acquainted with its talents, its achievements and opportunities, that you invest in its great potential. I would like to urge you to be ambassadors of Portugal in
Australia. Make the real Portugal known, so different from that which, quite often, is depicted in such a negative and imprecise way.

I would like to tell you, in my name and that of my wife, that we have the greatest honour and pleasure to be here with you today. Your friendly presence is a clear sign that you still have a bond with Portugal that should be fully appreciated and deepened. I extend my gratitude to all of you and, especially, to those who travelled from afar, including from New Zealand.

I would like to greet you for all that you have done to honour your origins and to enhance the name of Portugal. I would also like to ask you to make further efforts so that Portugal, on overcoming all present difficulties, may be able to project itself as a country of opportunities. The contribution for the fulfilment of this goal is also in your hands.

I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.