“Between Portugal and Brazil there can never be an obstacle” – Ambassador Ramos

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On the National Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities, the Portuguese ambassador to Brazil highlights the date’s significance and the strong friendship with Brazil, focused on the future. The diplomat also mentioned environmental appreciation as a prerequisite for commercial relations.

Yesterday, June 10, over 5 million Portuguese around the world celebrated the National Day of Portugal. In addition to honoring poet Luís Vaz de Camões, they expressed their love and pride for the Lusitanian homeland.

In Brazil, the Embassy of Portugal held a virtual celebration to mark the date. Luís Faro Ramos, Portugal’s ambassador to Brasília, said that the events included a concert that will unite Alentejo musician António Zambujo and Brazilian singer Gal Costa, as well as a podcast, an artistic exhibition and a projection of the colors of the Portuguese flag on Brasília monuments.

“It is an occasion to exchange affections, to celebrate at home and abroad. On this date, we Portuguese feel closer to each other,” explained the ambassador.

In addition to highlighting the date’s significance, the diplomat praised the “partnership” between the peoples of Brazil and Portugal. “This is a very dense, rich and diverse relationship, which is valuable, above all, for the people who endlessly cross the two sides of the ocean and, with our common language, build the bridges that unite us,” he commented.

In the scope of this cooperation, Ramos also valued the importance of networking between the Portuguese Chambers of Commerce in Brazil and the Portuguese Charity Hospitals. For the ambassador, the Camões Chairs have an “enormous potential” in promoting the relationship in sectors such as education, science, culture, language, and technology.

He also emphasized the strong institutional relationship between Lisbon and Brasilia, and cited recent visits of ministers from both countries.

What exactly is celebrated on Portugal’s National Day and how does the Embassy commemorate the date?

June 10th, the Day of Portugal, of Camões and the Portuguese Communities, commemorates the death of the great poet Luís Vaz de Camões, in 1580, but it is much more than this symbolic celebration. It unites, in a Portuguese embrace, the over 5 million of our compatriots spread around the world.

It is an occasion to exchange affection, to celebrate at home and abroad. On this date, we Portuguese feel closer to each other. This year, just like in 2020, we will not be able to celebrate in person, but we will celebrate in the virtual universe.

Today, we will feature on our platforms a concert that will bring together two virtuoso artists, Portuguese António Zambujo and Brazilian Gal Costa, who so adequately symbolize the bridges that culture has been building. We will also launch another episode of the podcast Cruzamentos Literários, which aims to show what Portuguese-speaking authors think about literature and the world.

This episode – the 10th in the series – features as guest Portuguese author Dulce Maria Cardoso. Thanks to the always invaluable support of the [local government], the colors of Portugal will be present here in Brasilia, in the buildings of the National Library and the Museum of the Republic. Yesterday, we opened the doors of the Portuguese Embassy for a guided visit to the exhibition Oréades, by Gabriela Albergaria and Marcelo Moscheta, a Luso-Brazilian dialogue around Brasilia and the Cerrado that we want to share with as many Brasilia residents as possible, within the rules currently in force.

How do you perceive the bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Portugal? What are the main partnership areas?

More than cooperation, the correct word is partnership. The relationship between Portugal and Brazil is not only based on a very rich common history. It is much more of the present and turned towards the future. It is a very dense, rich, and diversified relationship that is valuable, above all, for the people who endlessly cross the two sides of the ocean and, with our common language, build the bridges that unite us.

And they connect us, right from the start, to the very strong Portuguese communities in Brazil and Brazilian communities in Portugal. From the intense dialogue between our cultures to commercial exchanges, from soccer and gastronomy, to defense and education, science and technology, it is hard to find any area where there is no partnership between our countries.

Are there potentials that have not yet been explored in this relationship?

There are always possibilities to strengthen the relationship. That’s good for us, otherwise our work would already be complete and would not be necessary! The important thing is to make the most of the unique characteristics of the structures that have been set up.

For example, in the areas of commerce and health, to add even more value to the Portugal brand in Brazil. I am referring, specifically, to the Portuguese Chambers of Commerce in Brazil and the Portuguese Charitable Hospitals (Beneficiência Portuguesa). Both of them, in their respective areas, should be able to work in a network to enhance our performance.

They have a characteristic, which is to unite knowledge from Portugal and Brazil. Also the Camões Chairs that we have in Brazil – currently seven, but with the possibility of becoming eight next year – have an enormous potential to promote the relationship in the areas of education, science, culture and language. I can also mention cooperation in scientific research and technological innovation.

Our two countries have internationally recognized knowledge and niches of excellence. Another aspect to which we look with great attention are the partnerships in water and sanitation, and also the collection and treatment of waste, leveraging of the opportunities arising from the new legal framework and the Portuguese experience. This is an area with a strong impact on improving the living conditions of many Brazilians.

Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Marcos Pontes has just signed memoranda of understanding with Portugal. What is the importance of these documents and which sectors do they cover?

The memoranda signed will allow a closer approach between the two countries in three particularly critical areas of science: the launching of a cooperation network for the promotion of scientific and technological culture; the development of nanoscience and quantum technologies; and the development of nuclear, particle, astroparticle, and cosmology physics.

In addition to the signature of the memoranda of understanding, which resulted of months of joint work at the technical level, I would like to highlight the importance of Minister Marcos Pontes’ visit to Portugal, for two main reasons: he was present at the inauguration ceremony of the submarine cable Ellalink, which connects Latin America to Europe through two cities in Brazil and Portugal – Fortaleza and Sines – and talked to the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology about several other issues, such as, for example the AIR Center (Atlantic International Research Centre), an international collaborative organization, based in the Azores, which promotes an integrated approach on space, climate, ocean and energy in the Atlantic, with several poles in universities in Brazil and interesting cooperation possibilities with the Brazilian Space Program, which is registering remarkable expansion.

Portugal is governed by the Socialist Party, while Brazil by the far-right. Has this been an obstacle to the highest level relationship between the two nations?

Between Portugal and Brazil there can never be any obstacle that hinders the link between the people, as strong as it is. Therefore, the relationship between our countries is and will always be good. The institutional relationship is normal, as can be seen by the regular visits of government officials from both countries.

Besides Minister Marcos Pontes, whom I have already mentioned, I would like to highlight the two visits, in about six months, that the Portuguese Secretary of State for Internationalization made to Brazil, and the visit of the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture to Portugal last year. More visits will be negotiated for this year.

In what way is the environment issue a prerequisite for trade between Portugal and Brazil? How does Portugal perceive the destruction of the Amazon?

More and more, on a global level, trade is showing a trend, which I see as very positive, to fulfill sustainability and environmental preservation requirements. Therefore, the commercial relations between Portugal and Brazil are no exception to this rule.

As for the Amazon, we know that this great green lung of humanity has to be preserved and cared for, under penalty of mortgaging the living conditions of future generations. This is a subject that we follow very closely, but there is one point that is always important to highlight: the Amazon is the great green lung of humanity, but it belongs to the countries that have it in their soil. The Brazilian Amazon belongs to Brazil, the Colombian Amazon belongs to Colombia, etc.

Brazilians resumed investments in Portugal, representing R$210 (US$41.5) million in the first quarter 2021. What is the return guarantee for investing in the country?

This number (I do not know the source) confirms the confidence that Brazilians have in Portugal. Because they have the guarantee of investing in a country that has so much in common with Brazil, besides the language, but which also offers unique conditions of investment attractiveness and is the gateway to European markets.

Portugal is really the Atlantic gateway to Europe. A country at the same time multi-secular and modern, where the four corners of the world meet and live together harmoniously and safely. And where the legal frameworks for investment and business are well defined, giving rise to the ever-awaited stability and regulatory security for the investor.

How do you regard the coexistence between Brazilian immigrants and Portuguese citizens? Is there a harmonious coexistence?

As I mentioned, for a long time people from both sides of the ocean have been crossing it and building bridges that unite us. Coexistence is a reality. The fact that more than 1 million Portuguese and Luso-descendants in Brazil and certainly more than 200,000 Brazilians in Portugal – currently the largest foreign community in our country – live as if they were at home is the best proof of this.

As far as I am concerned – the welcoming of the Portuguese community in Brazil – I can only thank you on behalf of all of us for the warmth with which we are received.

Portugal has maintained a reasonably low number of deaths from Covid-19 compared to other countries, such as Spain, Italy, and Germany. To what do you owe the success in controlling the pandemic?

The pandemic hit everyone hard. Some are now doing better than others, while a few months ago they were worse. The big lesson to be learned is that no one is immune to this terrible global threat. Portugal has suffered. We are still not in a safe situation, but things are much better, mainly due to the very relevant advance in the vaccination of the population, but also due to compliance with the rules known to all, such as the use of masks, social distancing and hand hygiene.

Source: Correio Braziliense