“It is our priority to apply the combined expertise of both nations to expand the electric mobility business. Yesterday, we signed an agreement with India on mobility. We must quickly create a business for mobility, this is the right time,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of  Portugal.

Addressing dignitaries at a joint address in Mumbai, with the Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, organised by CII, president Marcelo spoke about intensifying ties between India and Portugal in various sectors of the economy.

“Several MOUs have been executed for the corporation in sectors such as industrial and intellectual property rights, maritime transport and port development, mobility and start-ups. We had further discussions related to infrastructure and real estate, a tie-up was also made with a Portuguese telecom infrastructure company,” said Piyush Goyal.

Addressing the need to have shared economic will Marcelo said that India could use Portuguese expertise in tourism and renewable energy, these areas being their strong suits. “We should also exchange expertise in ICT ( Information and Communication Technology),  environment, water and sanitation, public works and construction, since both of us are good at it.”

Portugal is going to assume the presidency of the European Union next year. Hinting at Portugal becoming a doorway to India-EU ties, Marcelo said, “It would be clever for India to invest in Portugal, not only to strengthen ties with the EU but because of Portugal’s prospective relation with the Great Britain post-Brexit.”

Talking about the state of Goa having Portuguese roots, Goyal said that he has suggested to President Marcelo to initiate a government to government partnership in Goa, to enhance tourism and coastal tourist activities with the help of Portugal’s know-how in the field. “I propose to convert the state of Goa into a mini Portugal” he added. The president is scheduled to travel to Goa from Mumbai in the course of his 4-day visit to India.

Talking about moving from having multilateral to bilateral ties with India Marcelo said: “We are both universal nations and we get along very well, our multilateral exchanges stand to testify. It is now time to have bilateral dialogue, focused on empathy and great people to people relations. We like building bridges and look forward to building cultural, economic, educational, scientific and technological bridges with India.”

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