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It is my duty to preside at the Closure of this International Conference on Portugal in the European and Worldwide Balance of Power.

I made it a point to attend all the intervening addresses given here today and took notice of a large number of extremely interesting contributions.

To all those who intervened, and especially to all of our guests, I publicly express my appreciation for your very valuable participation.

Your contributions allowed the identification, with special discernment, of the crossing of minds of those, in the World, who know Portugal with those, in Portugal, who know the World.

The analysis of the global changes occurred in the perspective of the great routes was revealing of a better understanding, not just of the changes which are being developed on a global basis but, possibly more important, of the structures that continue being the pillars of geopolitics and of international economy.

The case of the Atlantic Basin is a symptomatic feature and, possibly for this reason, was deeply analysed here.

It is around this vast ocean that lays the greatest economic power and, at the same time, an enormous development potential.

The Atlantic shores harbour a vibrant capacity to create wealth, an immense consumer potential, a dense network of capital and trading flows and a vast stock of raw materials and sources of energy, indispensable for world development.

It is equally in the Atlantic Basin that our greatest competitive potential is concentrated: due to geographic location, concentration of Portuguese speaking countries, larger presence of Portuguese communities and some of our main strategic partnerships.

It is in the Atlantic, in the Sea, that we may again find one of the most promising sources of strategic development, as I have long been putting forward. I recall not just the potential of the physical resources that may be brought to bear, but also the valuation of this area of maritime mobility, that is the crossing of the most important routes of the world economy.

However, the biggest challenge that we are facing is to be able to materialize, within the current context, what has always been our vocation to establish links with other peoples.

Fortunately, in the last few years, we have identified signals that responsible politicians and a significant number of entrepreneurs have developed considerable efforts in renewing contacts and in strengthening the traditional bonds that link us with the so called Greater Middle East, or with the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean and with the Far East.

I myself have taken part in this effort of approach, with the visits I carried out to India, Indonesia and East Timor. In these countries I witnessed the friendliness, the opening and the wish to cooperate that reflect a past, recalled without resentment, and that is projected into a future that, side by side, we wish to build jointly. Macau, where the transition process was considered exemplary, is a fair example of this.

It is in this context that our relationships with the East must be considered. There is a capital of knowledge and of mutual respect that deserves merit and strengthening and that places Portugal and the Portuguese, as I was able to witness, on a special standing.

Let us return to the Mediterranean, this singular sea, a true repository of millenary history and an area of confluence of cultures and civilizations.

This is a region that is going through difficult periods and where uncertainty is a reigning factor. In its Near Eastern and North African shores, political and economic stability that we would all appreciate viewing is still in the course of being developed.

Portugal has friendly relations, which it would like to deepen, with these strategic neighbours of ours, as has been stressed in this Conference.

Our Country is able to and must provide a significant contribution, continuing to sensitize and muster our European partners to reinforce cooperation, in order to favour the democratic forces and defenders of human rights in these countries on the shores of the Mediterranean.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Portugal found its “euro-maritime“ vocation by coordinating its legacy of European civilization with the universality that was provided by travel.

Portugal once again met with Europe in 1986. This was the revival of the meeting with our natural area. We adhered to the European project, bringing with us our Euro-Atlantic characteristics and our universal vocation.

The option for European integration and the investment in links with other regions in the world are not, for this reason, conflicting alternatives, but rather options that are convergent and interactive.

Portugal and Europe are nowadays going through particularly difficult and demanding times. The single market and the euro are two main struts of the European Union. But the European agenda must also be focused on growth and employment. And it must keep close to its peoples.

It is imperative to have a vision of the European project and of the paths it must follow. This is only sustainable if its fundamental values are respected, specifically the equality of States, the preservation of identities and diversities, democracy and solidarity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Throughout History, Portugal has reinvented itself and overcome challenges. It is in the most demanding environments that it is important to know how to reinvent hope.

But talking of hope is not nearly enough, it is necessary to build it and transmit it through a vision of the future. The inestimable contributions that you have brought to this Conference will surely help us in discovering new views and pointing out new courses.

Thank you very much.