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

I was delighted to be able, within the programme of the State Visit I am holding in Romania, to view the building and obtain detailed knowledge over the development of the “Park Lake Shopping Centre” project, a partnership between Portuguese company Sonae Sierra and the Caelum Development company.

An international investor with specific knowledge of the local real estate market and a Portuguese company specializing in the concept, organization and management of shopping centres, joined wills and competences to launch this commercial complex.

This is a difficult construction undertaking, which preserves an environmentally sensitive area and which will have a heavy economic and social impact in Bucharest.

We are speaking of a 180 million euro direct investment, which will generate approximately two thousand new jobs in the local market.

Sonae Sierra owns 46 shopping centres, being present in four continents and 14 countries. In these geographical locations it manages 88 shopping centres with approximately 8,300 shopkeepers.

It is important to take advantage of the competences and the most competitive factors of our companies in order to, in strategically intelligent partnerships, assert ourselves better in the global market.

This project is, undoubtedly, a good example of Portuguese entrepreneurial dynamism.

Mister Mayor,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The good understanding between our two countries and peoples, added to the circumstance that we have more than 100 Portuguese companies with investments in Romania, clearly shows that we have fertile land for the development of other partnerships, new investments and for an increase in trading flows of goods and services.

Portugal is an open economy, with excellent infrastructure, privileged natural conditions and highly qualified human capital.

In a wide field of industrial and service activities, Portuguese companies are going through an unprecedented stage of strategic assertion, sustained in innovation and internationalization.

Traditional sectors, such as textiles, clothing and footwear, wines and olive oil, marble, ceramics and furniture, hold strong positions in international markets. Such companies have been through an objective guided modernization process and have reached a new stage, in terms of technological capabilities, quality production, fashion, design, innovation and skills in the management of distribution networks and customer service.

The Portuguese economy also has nowadays several sectors where scientific and technological research has achieved excellent results, such as industries connected to automobile and aircraft production, information and communication technologies, environmental conservation, urban planning and energy efficiency, etc.

It is worth remembering that Portugal is deserving of increased international recognition due to its efforts in the production of renewable energy, which covers over 60 per cent of our domestic electric power consumption.

In addition to this, Portugal has a strong political and entrepreneurial presence in Portuguese language countries, in Africa and Latin America, with roots based in ancestral historical and cultural links. Portugal is, doubtlessly, a privileged platform for these countries, which is open to Romanian companies that intend doing business in those markets.

I must confess that I feel very proud to view the notable job that Portuguese technology, through Sonae Sierra, is undertaking in Romania.

I thus wish to congratulate all the private and public partners, associated companies and employees, Portuguese and Romanian, for the drive and dedication they have developed in this project.

Thank you very much!