"I remember when Microsoft started in Portugal, I was part of the early days of Microsoft's business and life in Portugal", said Brad Smith in an interview with Lusa, when asked about his vision of the country.

"The first thing I would like to say is that it is remarkable to see how much Portugal has changed, how vibrant the technology sector has become in Portugal".

Currently, "we have 2,000 employees in Portugal and I remember when Microsoft had two", he said.

So "we've seen a thousand-fold growth in terms of the number of employees that we have here," he added.

"I think Portugal has become a great place for a startup to start their life," he said, noting that the country has also become a "great place to hire talented people."

And, he added, "it's not just in Lisbon", but in "multiple cities and towns in Portugal".

Brad Smith stressed that all countries are trying to figure out how to get out of the Covid-19 pandemic and how to adapt to the future.

"How do we adapt to a variety of different economic challenges and those that are present here," he said.

However, "I think that if you look at the long term, in a way, the most fundamental ingredient for any country is its talent," he stressed.

In this sense, "Portugal has become a place that has both a great home grown talent in terms of people who were born here" and has become "a welcoming home for talent from the rest of Europe and even beyond", he said.

"I think it's a pretty magical combination for the future of Portugal," concluded the Microsoft president.