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

We are extremely pleased to welcome in Portugal President Juan Manuel Santos, Mrs. Maria Clemência de Santos, and their retinue on this State Visit.

Portugal greets Your Excellency as Head of State of a Country to which it is linked by bonds of deep friendship, based on a fraternal and historic relationship, and on an identity of purposes for the future we want for our bilateral relations and for the World in which we live.

Colombia and Portugal have maintained diplomatic relations since 1857. Right in the historic centre of Bogotá, next to the entrance to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a panel of Portuguese tiles representing Lisbon, offered by Portugal on the 450th anniversary of the founding of Bogotá, occurred in 1538. As a curiosity, some of the main halls of the same Ministry, located in the Palace of S. Carlos, are decorated with Arraiolos carpets, a typical Portuguese village.

Culture has forever been a fundamental component of the approximation between Peoples. And the cultural cooperation between both our countries has been fruitful. We had the pleasure today, to visit the magnificent exhibition of Fernando Botero – present among us here and whom I warmly greet. And it is also a great honour for us to know that the Bogotá International Book Fair, to be held in 2013, will have Portugal as its guest of honour.

Your Excellency’s visit, Mister President, is the confirmation of the free will that stimulates the political office holders of both countries in the strengthening of our relationship and our cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

The Agreements that our Governments have been negotiating in the fields of transport, education, free circulation of people or fiscal cooperation are already significant steps taken in that direction.

In the context of a policy of relationship with Latin America, Portugal views in Colombia a partner with which it wishes to tighten the already existing bonds and to promote new means of dialogue and discernment.

Portugal supports Your Excellency’s steps of great political courage aiming for the pacification and reconciliation of Colombian society, and your Government’s drive in the fight against drug trafficking, all of which will greatly contribute towards a future of peace and stability in the region.

In the important domain of economic and trading relations we are still very far from what we can achieve together.

I want for this reason o especially greet the entrepreneurial delegation that accompanies Your Excellency.

Portuguese entrepreneurs view with much interest the perspectives Colombia holds for them. I have no doubts that in such diversified sectors as tourism, retail trade, bio fuels and other renewable energies, construction, transport and infrastructure there are nowadays business opportunities that could be usefully gained.

We would also like to invite Colombian entrepreneurs and investors to view Portugal as a country, member of the European Union, which can offer them a favourable environment towards business and excellent investment opportunities.

Portugal, at the same time as it conducts a rigorous budgetary policy, is striding ahead with important structural reforms for improving the competitiveness of its enterprises, and has been increasing its production of transactional goods and their export to very demanding markets.

Portugal is also earmarked by its linguistic and cultural proximity with Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and other countries that express themselves in Portuguese. This proximity can be considered as an important link for means of triangular cooperation between Colombia, Portugal and members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.

Mister President,
Current international relations are not limited to the strict bilateral field. Regional integration is nowadays a reality that is in everybody’s interest to be promoted and developed. Our social and economic development much depend from it.

Portugal has defended the existence of a deeper relationship between the European Union and Latin America and with the countries in this region. I thus salute the coming into force, next year, of the Trade Agreement between Colombia and the European Union, that Portugal has, anyway, always backed.

In these days, and in the World in which we live, what happens in Europe and in Latin America has universal repercussions and is certainly relevant for each of our two countries. This is the global world where our bilateral relations are being developed.

Our responsibility is to strengthen the bonds that link us, in an ever tighter and fruitful cooperation, for the benefit of our two Peoples.

In this spirit I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health of President Juan Manuel Santos and Mrs. Maria Clemência de Santos, to the prosperity of the friendly People of Colombia and to the future relations between our two Countries.