Economy, defence, energy, and language are priorities in relations with France

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro noted the importance of signing the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between Portugal and France in a joint statement with the French President Emmanuel Macron during the second day of his State visit to Portugal, the first for a French President in 26 years.

Luís Montenegro stressed "three major priorities in the bilateral relations", noting the economy, including defence, energy and Portuguese and French languages.

As for the economy, "boosting trade and investment" and advancing towards defence "a new area on which we are working intensely" "via a strategy that we wish to expand towards the whole of Europe so we can have more strategic autonomy" through "added investment and production capabilities", "generating more industry and economy".

In this field, Portugal is procuring defence material from France and France is also procuring material from Portugal "and that is how we view this strategy on a European level", he said.

Energy and language

Energy wise, the Prime Minister reiterated "once again" the need and "a joint initiative was arranged for, once and for all, build the energy interconnections between the Iberian Peninsula and France, particularly for electricity".

Luís Montenegro said "when we are asking for a more competitive Europe" and due to this "we want to be less dependent" and "lower energy prices, lowering red tape costs so companies can be more competitive with other trading blocs", it makes no sense to not harness our installed capacity, namely in renewables in the Iberian Peninsula and particularly in Portugal.

It will also be positive if other States produce low-cost energy that gets to the Portuguese economy, adding that "the European domestic market must be a reality if we are to build a more competitive economy that can generate the wealth, we need for our people’s wellbeing".

Teaching Portuguese in France and French in Portugal was also agreed on, as "this is an important component of the cooperation that makes the most of the relations between both countries, not overlooking the importance for the communities" (there are more than 1.2 million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants living in France and there are many French people residing in Portugal and, above all, many French people who visit us and vacation here every year.

Economy

Luís Montenegro also stated that "in the economy, our interactions are increasingly diverse and multifaceted". France is "our third largest client and also our third supplier, as well as "the second country with the largest volume of foreign direct investment". "The number of Portuguese companies operating in France has increased significantly".

The Prime Minister said there are increasingly more sectors where both countries share common projects, noting "one President Macron has been focusing on and which is strategic to our countries and to Europe", new technologies and artificial intelligence. 

"We have been sharing a lot of information and experience, so we don’t miss the train to modernise our economy, so that we are not excessively dependent on others", he added.

Ukraine

Luís Montenegro also stressed "President Macron’s efforts and leadership" to build, in the international setting "the necessary bridges to ensure paths towards peace, safeguarding citizens’ rights, freedoms and guarantees, international and humanitarian law, the major values that found the universalism of the Portuguese and French nations, and the European Union".

In Ukraine, there must be "a peace process with the country, the European Union, and our transatlantic partners", through dialogue and a spirit to build common platforms that bring the allies closer together" – Europe, the United States, Canada. 

Praising the French President’s initiative, he claimed that Portugal backs "a fair and long-lasting peaceful solution based on respect for international law". But, for this to be possible, "it is necessary for the European Union, the parties engaged in the conflict, and the transatlantic allies to be part of the solution"  

Lastly, the Prime Minister highlighted that France has always been a partner for dialogue, values and building bridges in the conflicts on the international arena.

During the ceremony, in addition to the Treaty, cooperation agreements were signed in the fields of defence capabilities, protecting classified matters and intelligence, law enforcement, research and higher education institutions, learning Portuguese and French, education, science, research and innovation, higher education, culture, youth and sports, and cinema co-production.