PORTUGAL
T
he political relation between India and Portugal has been extremely good whether on a bilateral or a multilateral fora. We support India's candidature as a permanent member of the Security Council in a restructured United Nations. We strongly support reforms in the international and multilateral institutions to make them more inclusive so as to give voice to the emerging powers and the bigger nations of the world—we support more consultations with all regional groups and a greater focus on subjects that are vital for today's world like global warming, climate change and all such issues. Portugal's initiative in advocating a strong Indo-EU relationship resulted in the Indo-EU annual summit. During Portugal's Presidency of the EU in 2007, this was further reinforced. As a matter of fact, 2007, was a landmark year for Portugal-India bilateral relations. The visits of the President, Prof. Cavaco Silva and the Prime Minister, Mr. José Socrates acknowledge the unique place of Portugal in India's external relations and the Portuguese engagement in reinforcing political links and creating the conditions for stronger economic and commercial ties. In the beginning of 2007 we had the visit of the President Prof. Cavaco Silva; in the second semester of 2007, when we had the chair of European Union, we promoted relations between India and the European Union and finally at the end of 2007, we had the bilateral summit between our Prime Minister, Mr. José Socrates and the Indian Prime Dr. Man Mohan Singh. Next year, we had the visit of Foreign Minister to consolidate the relation. Our relationship is now developing at an unprecedented pace. On one side, we have India, an unbound giant, growing impressively and developing the most advanced scientific and technological skills, while its major companies conquer the world's markets. On the other side, we have Portugal, an ancestral European country which, over the last thirty years, has been witnessing rapid socio-economic change. It is now stepping into the global limelight as hub of scientific and technologic excellence
SQUARE 28DIPLOMATIC May-July, 2010
and as a strategic platform between Europe, America, Africa and Asia. Portugal enjoys a historical relation which was initiated by Vasco de Gama when he sailed to this country. We had a small part of India–Goa, that has been colonised by the Portuguese during the earlier centuries which is, ofcourse, now a part of India. Goa has strong Portuguese cultural influence as can be evidenced from the architecture, the prevalence of the language and an overall cultural heritage. Truly, Goa has a very rich heritage from Portuguese and south European origin and it has been preserved by the Indian people. Today, a set of diplomatic instruments aiming to enhance our economic, and trade relations has been established over the years. The Trade and Industrial Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1977 and reinforced in 2000 and a Cooperation Agreement on Tourism sector was signed in 1991. Along with these substantial treaties other regulatory agreements have also been adopted. A convention avoiding double taxation, fiscal fraud was set in 1998 and a Protocol on mutual promotion and investment protection was signed in 2000. The Portuguese Development AgencyAICEP has also started operations in India from January 1, 2008. It is an initiative to boost the economic ties between Portugal and India.
ECONOMY Economic relations, as already mentioned, has maintained a very healthy growth except for the global economic crisis that overtook the world. To give you an idea about the growth of bilateral trade from 2005 to 2008 — Portuguese exports have grown by about 25% and Indian exports by about 29%. However the trend has been generally good and Indian companies have started investing in Portugal. We have also Portuguese companies investing in India. Portugal, one of the world's most developed countries, can become India's next big business partner. As the business climate in India gains pace, trade with European countries is likely to grow in areas
H.E. Mr Luis Filipe Castro Mendes Born at Idanha- a-Nova, Excellency, Mr Luis Filipe Castro Mendes graduated in law from the University of Lisbon (1974) and was appointed as a Deputy in the Cabinet of Ministers without a portfolio from Sep 1974. Thereafter, he was posted in various countries and served in different diplomatic capacities including Angola, Spain, France, Brazil and Hungary. He was appointed as Ambassador of Portugal to India in 2007. A career diplomat, he is a poet and novelist having made his debut in 1983 with a collection of poems Scraps. It is said that two characteristics mark his poetry : the intertextuality (with references to writers like Emily Dickinson, Rilke, Nietzsche, Borges, Rimbaud, among others) and processing of traditional poetic forms like the sonnet. When I was ushered to Excellency’s office in the presence of Mr Filipe de Moraes Sarmento Honrado, Counsellor, Economic Affairs and Trade and Mr Luis Reis Lourenco, Counsellor, my first impression was that I had entered a library or a professor’s study. Evidently, Excellency has a great passion for books as he is a poet and fiction writer of repute. He is also a highly decorated citizen of Portugal.