Portugal wants more ambition in its relationship with Portuguese-speaking countries and hopes to cement bonds of friendship between peoples, said the new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Nuno Sampaio.
“This government, in what is the tradition of Portuguese democratic governments, continues in a stable manner the friendly relationship with all Portuguese-speaking countries. Now we want to have more ambition. I would link this to what brings me here, which are the Sustainable Development Goals.”
“Integrated and humanist” migration policy
Sampaio’s statements were made to UN News, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where he was asked about the fears of a possible controlled migration policy in the country that hosts more than 980 thousand migrants.
Portugal defends a policy of strong cooperation with Lusophony
“Regarding refugees, Portugal is a host country and will continue to be so. This government, as is Portugal’s tradition and its program, welcomes both refugees and immigrants, in an integrated and humanistic way. That’s clear. And in relation to this aspect there is no change.”
A year ago, the Portuguese authorities created a model for granting residence permits to citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, which has a specific portal for granting these titles.
High aging rate
The issue of migration was one of the most discussed in the electoral race in the country, which until now is considered to be in the opposite direction to that of the European region due to the increase in immigrants welcomed in recent years. The aging rate is one of the highest on the European continent.
As one of the bets of the government that took office this April, Sampaio speaks of a policy with strong cooperation with Lusophony driven by the “Atlantic and European geographic and cultural position, and the ability to build bridges” at the level of economy and culture.
In 2021, the Cplp adopted an agreement on mobility between member states, which became part of the cooperation framework between the eight nations of the bloc.
