The Government intends to extend diplomatic representations to the Philippines and Malaysia as well, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told Lusa.

With a population of 100 million people, Vietnam has “very old relations” and a “tradition of cultural exchange” with Portugal, and is “a hyper-dynamic economy,” highlighted Paulo Rangel, who spoke to Lusa by telephone at the end of a two-day visit to Thailand and before travelling to Hanoi to participate in the inauguration of the embassy.

The Portuguese representation will be headed by Joaquim Moreira de Lemos, a top-level diplomat who comes from the embassy in Peru, has “recognised experience” in economic diplomacy, and has also been posted to the Far East, according to a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE).

Act of justice

The opening is also “an act of complete justice,” the minister argued, after Vietnamese authorities opened an embassy in Lisbon at the end of last year.

“This means that the two countries have a reciprocal vision of the importance of high-level representation in their respective capitals, in Hanoi and Lisbon. It is a step that deserves to be celebrated, which has great political significance today, but also historical significance, and this is a tribute that we also owe to the Portuguese generations who created these ties with the whole world,” he maintained.

Reopening of embassies

The Government, said Paulo Rangel, also intends to reopen the Portuguese embassy in the Philippines, “closed for a long time,” and also in Malaysia.

This would allow for a completely different coverage of highly dynamic Asian economies, of countries that are medium-sized countries in the global context, which is very important at a time when we are talking about multilateralism and the risks it faces,” he explained.

“There is a strategic bet here that, in the Portuguese case, has a historical justification. Portugal has a potential for assertion in these countries that is practically unparalleled by any other country,” he pointed out.

Rangel admits that the reopening of the Philippines could occur during the current legislature, as well as the already announced opening of a consular office in Nepal, which also recently opened an embassy in Lisbon.