"We’re both committed to making [the Portuguese-German relations] more intense"

"We are both committed to making our relationship more intense, which, from a trade viewpoint, makes Germany Portugal’s second most important partner," said Prime Minister in a joint statement with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Luís Montenegro added that "we have every reason to trust this boost in the cultural, economic, and political relations between Portugal and Germany", during a statement at the end of a working meeting with the Head of the German Government in Berlin.

"We both agreed to attend a corporate forum that will be held here in Berlin at the end of the year, or start of 2025, which will bring together German entrepreneurs and will be an opportunity to deepen German companies’ investments in Portugal and indicate what the Portuguese companies offer the German economy", he said, adding that "we must give place investments in the digital area, the green transition, and innovation at the top of the list".

The Prime Minister highlighted that both countries "stand close on many of the challenges posed to Europe", stressing the support Germany has offered Ukraine, "in the front line of assistance" so Ukraine can defend itself against the Russian invasion, "which brings no future or good expectations for Europe and the world".

Commitment to Defence 

Luís Montenegro also said that "our purpose in the Government is to keep in schedule to hit the 2% target of our budget for defence by 2030", as agreed in NATO. "It is an audacious schedule, seeing that we need to recover from the lag accumulated over the last few years".

"Our commitment to NATO, our partners, the Atlantic Alliance is full. From this perspective, we understand that words alone are not enough. This commitment must be materialised in action", he stressed.

 The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that Portugal has been "a reliable ally" and "a good friend for the European Union", thanking the assistance offered to Ukraine, one of the points discussed by the two leaders in their meeting.

On his third visit abroad (he’d been to Spain and Cape Verde before), the Prime Minister travelled with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel.