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Honourable President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Your Majesty
Honourable Presidents and Heads of Government
Honourable Iberian-American Secretary-General
Ladies and Gentlemen

I wish, firstly, to congratulate President Tabaré Vasquez for the excellent organization of this Summit and to thank him for the friendly and hospitable reception given us by the authorities and people of Uruguay.

It is with great pleasure that I once again take part in the Iberian-American Summit Meetings. With His Majesty the King of Spain, I share the honour of having taken part, when Prime Minister of my Country, in the Group of Heads of State and of Government when these Summits were begun, in Guadalajara in 1991. It is with great satisfaction that I take note that what was then uncertain and a hope is today a dynamic reality, a background of dialogue and an indispensable cooperation within the international political scenario.

The Iberian-American General Secretariat and its Secretary-General, Enrique Iglésias, to whom my compliments are due, have greatly contributed towards this situation. His belief in the Iberian-American identity is well known and his appointment to the position he now occupies represented the recognition for his dedication to this cause, as well as the trust we all place in him to expand the project that brings us here.

The countries that met at Guadalajara, in 1991, shared a set of historical and cultural affinities, and accepted the challenge to contribute to a common future of peace and economic and social development, based on democracy and on respect for human rights.

The challenge continues. When I re-read the Declaration that instituted this Iberian-American Conference of Heads of State and of Government, I note that, in spite of all that we have conquered, our ambitions continue valid and up-to-date. It is our duty to continue promoting democracy and the fundamental rights of the people; dialogue and cooperation between Nations must continue to inspire our attitude; economic and social development is still a battle which must proceed. I would say that our responsibilities only gained greater weight. There is still much to be done.

What should we look at when we face the future? That is the question that can be placed at the beginning of this XVI Summit.

We need more determination to proceed from words to actions. A greater concern with the education of our peoples, a greater investment in science, technology and innovation, a coherent policy in the promotion of economic growth and employment, a responsible view on the environment, as well as increased care with the peoples’ health. I would add the promotion of tourism, the stimulation of cultural interchange, as well as the preparation of a properly defined policy of cooperation and aid to development. All are fundamental tools to proceed with our objectives of peace, stability, economic development and social justice.

Honourable President,

To speak alone represents, increasingly, for each of our States, the risk of not being heard. In the face of the challenges of our times, the defence of our national interests must forcibly happen through dialoguing with other nations and, when the objectives coincide, by concerted action.

These Summits are an answer to such a reality. We may not always agree in our views on the issues which we confront in today’s world. Let us accept it naturally. After all, that is the rule in democratic societies. Debate is healthy and enriching; societies grow with it and with it learn new ways. In effect, History has given us many and painful examples of what can result from the imposition of a sole view. Portugal is well aware of it.

These Summits are a privileged space for us to listen to each other, searching for teachings and how to better understand the difficulties each of us have, in the name of the commitments we all assumed in Guadalajara: the defence of democratic values and of the rights of our citizens, the promotion of the well being and of the economic and social development of our peoples.

Honourable President
Dear Friends

Each one of us is a party to regional integration projects of our own. In the case of Portugal, integration in the European Union provided benefits of undeniable value for the Portuguese people, and was an added value for Europe. I am a convinced apologist of a process of European integration which goes beyond its original economic dimension, which contemplates an important social dimension that will allow the European States to have available the political weight which only integration can provide.

I believe that this same thinking is applicable to the processes of regional integration to which each one of you is committed. Regional integration has allowed the grading of differences, the reduction of tensions and the overtaking of conflicts, in the name of the common interests being built. It would be a mistake to recede before obstacles that appear in our way.

But regional integration cannot be a passport for groups of States to build fortresses and become isolated. Portugal has been an intransigent advocate for a Europe open to the world. As such we have battled with exertion for dialogue of the European Union with the other processes of regional integration, very particularly with Latin America.

I recall, for example, and with personal satisfaction, that it was under the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, in 1992, that the first meeting between the European Union and Mercosul was held in Guimarães.

Honourable President

The theme which will occupy this Summit is a picture of what I have just said: the universal dimension of the challenges and the complexity of the answers thus demanded, give absolute priority to the mechanisms of dialogue and conciliation among nations. As such, these Summits are an instrument which is increasingly decisive and timely. I am certain that we will know how to value the heritage we have been building, and to achieve with this Montevideo Summit a success in the history of dialogue and cooperation between our countries, and in the assertion of democratic values and of respect for human rights which have inspired us since the beginning.

I wish to let you all know that Portugal would be very pleased to organize the Iberian-American Summit in 2009.

Thank you very much.