Meeting between leaders

Luís Montenegro spoke alongside the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, after a meeting between the two of about an hour at the official residence of the Portuguese Prime Minister.

“Regarding the future, we are very committed, and I know it is reciprocal, to deepening everything that has to do with the implementation and entry into force, even if provisionally on this occasion, of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur,” he assured.

Montenegro recalled that Portugal was “and is an uncompromising defender of this agreement,” just as Brazil was decisive for its implementation, after more than two decades of negotiations.

“This agreement marks, from a historical point of view, a moment from which Brazil can project itself more objectively and more deeply into the European economy, and Portugal will be a partner in this path of the Brazilian economy,” he promised.

On the other hand, he assured, "Portugal will be an engine for deepening relations in the opposite direction."

"Whether it's the economic relations that bring Portuguese companies to Brazil, and there are many, or as a point of contact between European companies and economic cooperation development projects on a European scale in Brazil," he said.

Leveraging economies

Montenegro hoped that partnerships between the two countries at the economic level could continue to bring Portugal distinctions such as "economy of the year" in 2025 by The Economist magazine, or "making the Brazilian economy the largest economy in Latin America."

"Today we have great partnerships from an aeronautical point of view, from the point of view of the defense industries, but also from the point of view of energy, from the point of view of scientific knowledge, from the technological point of view, from the point of view of health areas, that's what we want to continue developing in the coming years," he wished.

Appeals for peace

Montenegro concluded his statement – ​​in which neither of them answered questions – wishing that, in the near future, “the world will live more peacefully, experience times of greater stability and less dependence on those who want to assume positions of hegemony.”

“The best way we have to have a balanced world is to have a diversification between political and commercial spaces, and the connection between Portugal and Brazil is fundamental so that this diversity can build a world order with more balance and, through this balance, with more peace and, through peace, with more social justice,” he stated.