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I have nearly concluded this working tour to the Azores Autonomous Region. Throughout these days, together with my Wife, I travelled in the Islands of Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Flores and Corvo.

These were fully occupied days during which I became acquainted with the reality of the “Islands of Cohesion”, as these are known, and with their very specific issues. I am grateful to the Representative of the Republic and to the regional authorities that accompanied me for their contribution towards the total achievement of this visit’s objectives.

I end in S. Miguel this unforgettable direct contact with the peoples of the Azores Autonomous Region. My presence in this luncheon is a tribute to all the Azores local authorities and a sign of my gratefulness for the hospitality of the local authorities of the islands that I visited in this journey.

My deepest greetings are addressed to all the peoples of the Azores that, once again, showed their generosity and their patriotic spirit. I was received everywhere with unsurpassable sympathy and friendliness, which I very warmly reciprocate.

In a text written in 1976, in the aftermath of the revolution, the great poetess and woman of letters Natália Correia asked «who said you were weak, Oh People’». Truly, who is it that can say that the people of the Azores are weak? This is a people that are capable of facing the setbacks of the land, a land of marvellous natural beauty but at times adverse to man’s presence.

Many centuries ago a first expedition of thirty people tried to settle down in Corvo. In 1570 the primitive church was built and, ten years later, in 1580, in the same year that Portugal lost its independence, settlers from Flores became definitely established in Corvo, which from then on became permanently inhabited. But difficulties did not end there. Seven years later, in 1587, Corvo was sacked and their houses burnt by English pirates that had first attacked the town of Lajes das Flores. The island was, throughout the years, target of many forays. In one of these, in 1632, the people of Corvo reacted with such courage that the invaders had to give up their intent.

This is the fibre of the people of the Azores. They decided to settle in the islands, created roots, dedicated themselves to farming, to cattle raising, they braved dangerous seas. They never gave up. I thus greet, with deep admiration, the farmers and the seamen of this Region. Many Azoreans endeavoured to earn elsewhere the bread denied them by their land. In the Diaspora they created new roots and brought greatness to the name of Portugal. To the Azoreans in the Portuguese communities and their descendants abroad I address, from this Island of São Miguel, a very affectionate greeting.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In these days I visited the so-called “Islands of Cohesion”. Cohesion, in its multiple angles, is in effect a fundamental value. To cohesion I dedicated my last year’s speech on the National Day of Portugal. This was not done by chance: national cohesion is one of the distinctive components of being Portuguese, as compared to other European and worldwide nations. A country’s cohesion is, before anything else, territorial cohesion. But even if the territories are dispersed, the respect for the diversity of each of them is the basis of cohesion and of national unity. Here as well, in this autonomous region, being Azorean is built from the respect for the particular features of each island. Identity is one only, but each island is a singular entity, and this is the origin of their great charm. Each island has specific potentialities and one of the aims of my visit was exactly to provide projection and visibility to the immense wealth that each island is able to offer and, as such, to contribute towards promoting cohesion.

It is essential to be aware that, with the support of new technologies, the notions of centre and periphery have been radically changed in the 21st century. What was previously peripheral may now be found in the centre of the world. The Azores have for long known how to take advantage of their geo-strategic position in order to become asserted as a privileged platform for inter Atlantic dialogue. Now, in our days, a remote island can be the centre for satellite tracking, a base for the control of air traffic in an enormously wide area of the northern hemisphere, the nerve centre for combating marine pollution or the monitoring of nuclear tests.

If technology guarantees this new centrality there is much to be done in the field of accessibilities, a decisive factor for the harmonious development of the entire Region, as has anyway been recognized by the regional and local authorities. In a large measure, these are still the «unknown Islands» as was stated by Raul Brandão. For this reason it is fundamental that an adequate transport policy strengthens the development of tourism in the Islands of Cohesion. Not a massive and destructive tourism, but a tourism that is demanding and that requires quality, which searches in the Azores exactly what has already been lost in other parts of the world: natural landscapes of unparalleled beauty, a preserved historical and cultural heritage, the peoples’ hospitality, respect for the memory and for the environment, a gastronomy based on referenced products. In this way it will be possible to settle the people and avoid demographic losses and ageing. In this way, it will equally be possible to develop a more competitive agriculture, guided towards the production of quality and referenced goods which will be Azorean labels known by demanding national and foreign consumers. This is a reality which cannot be lost sight of.

Cohesion is also, as I have often pointed out, social cohesion and generational cohesion. And this is the reason why all public policies must be guided by principles of social justice, whether in the distribution of resources or in the sharing of sacrifices.

As I have repeatedly underlined, the sustainable and balanced development of the Country and of this region as well, must essentially benefit from the role of local authority. Local authorities are closely aware of each location’s issues and that with knowledge provided by experience and proximity, which components activated and provided with potential in order to guarantee balanced development of the counties and parishes.

The reasons that led the parliamentarians that approved the 1976 Constitution to consecrate local power are, basically, similar to those that led them to guarantee the political and administrative autonomy of the insular regions. Even if located in differing government levels, in both cases the concern of the 1976 parliamentarians was identical: respect diversity and recognize the advantages of proximity. For this reason precisely it is crucial that a healthy cooperation and a harmonious relationship exist between the regional authorities and the local powers, since both aim towards a common objective: promote the peoples’ well being and assert the Azores Autonomous Region in the wider national context. National cohesion is also cohesion between the powers of the Republic and the local powers and, equally, cohesion between the several powers that exist in the midst of the Autonomous Regions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Azoreans have for long been aware of the value of cohesion. It was because they kept their union that, during centuries, they were able to resist the attacks of piracy. It was because they kept their union that they were able to live in aggressive lands, with grottos and potholes that were “gills the volcano opened”, as written by Natália Correia. Throughout these days I became well aware that the Azoreans know the difficulties of the present but, similarly to what happened in the past, are not disposed to abdicate from their future. It is this admirable energy that all the Portuguese have to share. It is this Azorean spirit that I movingly want to greet on the date in which I conclude my visit to this Autonomous Region.