Portugal and China to strengthen cooperation
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, says his country stands ready to strengthen cooperation with China in the area of “Belt and Road” construction.
A report by Xu Zhengzhong, Wu Jun and Yang Xuebo of the People’s daily, which were made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), quoted President Rebelo de Sousa as having said this during a meeting with Yang Zhenwu, president of the People’s Daily, last Tuesday.
Describing the initiative as “crucial to enhancing commercial exchanges between China and European countries,” Rebelo de Sousa noted that Portugal would strive to become a major stop point on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
He pointed out that both countries were poised to benefit from the China-initiated “Belt and Road strategy”, especially the maritime Silk Road, and the EU-China Connectivity Platform.
“Port of Sines, as an important gateway to Europe, now has great opportunities to attract investment and seek Chinese partners,” Rebelo de Sousa is quoted by the report as saying.
Applauding the past 10 years of their bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, the Portuguese head of state emphasized that China presented an important opportunity to Portugal, the report said.
“The vibrant Portugal-China relations have yielded fruitful results in politics, economy, culture, energy and other fields,” he said, adding that frequent mutual visits, bilateral cooperative agreements and mutual support in the international arena were all proof of the robust bilateral relations.
The report said he also suggested that enormous opportunities awaited through exploring and deepening bilateral or multi-lateral cooperation, in the application of new technologies.
“Portugal and China can further tap into trilateral cooperation with other regions, especially African countries, and Portugal can extend its ‘geographic landscape’ and economic strength”, President de Sousa said.
He also called for closer cooperation in transportation facilities and port construction, intelligence sharing in energy and scientific research, and maritime collaboration, the report stated.
Source: GNA