Montenegro wants young people to stay in Portugal: “We need to stop the flight of human capital abroad”

Prime Minister and the Minister of Youth and Innovation had lunch with 50 young people from various professional areas and from various regions of the country

The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, says that it is necessary to stop the emigration of young Portuguese. After a lunch with 50 young people from various professional areas and from various regions of the country, in which the Minister of Youth and Innovation Margarida Balseiro Lopes also participated, Luís Montenegro appealed to young Portuguese people to remain in Portugal, ensuring that “we are more available than ever before to give you the tools to build the future of our country.”

“We need this generation and the generations born in April more than ever. We need to stop the flight of human capital abroad. (…) We need young Portuguese people to take advantage of their abilities and put them at the service of projects and at the service of the country,” he said.

Montenegro admitted that “many young people” emigrate “out of vocation”, but considered that “the vast majority will go due to lack of opportunities here”. And he promised that the Government will work “so that it is not necessary to leave Portugal to have projects that value the objectives of young Portuguese people”. “If we do not have the capacity to stop this escape, we are frustrating Portugal’s destiny”, she highlighted.

After the lunch that took place in São Bento and the family photo in the palace gardens, the prime minister says that half a century after April 25th could mean a change. “I am convinced that the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April will be a turning point if we break what was a negative cycle that was the hallmark of recent years – the inability to retain our talent in Portugal”, he defended.

“The evocation of the 25th of April is to look forward. It is to look to the future. It is to ensure that the liberating dawn produced an effect, consequence and manifested itself with a change that is always continuous and permanent”, he highlighted.