The relations between Portugal and Asia are rooted in History. The Portuguese discoverers were the first to create sea routes between Europe and India, and were also the first Europeans to establish contacts with Japan.
Our embassy in Bangkok is one of the oldest diplomatic missions in the world. The transfer of the sovereignty of Macau to China took place in 1999, after 500 years of Portuguese presence, and we can still find traces of the Portuguese cultural influence in Indonesia and Malaysia. Portuguese is the official language of East Timor, which is our partner in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).
These historical and cultural links with Asia offer enormous potential for developing bilateral relationships with the countries of the region. Therefore, it is important to translate this mutual understanding into concrete cooperation actions, involving also the private sector and civil society.
General Data
Several analysts argue that Asia is the continent of the 21st century, particularly in terms of demographics and economy. Accounting for 60% of the world's population, Asian consumers are expected to spend close to USD 32 billion per year by 2030, the equivalent to about 43% of world consumption.
Portugal has 14 resident diplomatic representatives (9 Embassies and 4 Consulates-General) in the Asian region.
As the global economy is increasingly driven by Asian markets, with the concomitant deviation of the economic weight and political influence to the East, the Portuguese diplomacy has sought to adapt accordingly, promoting the advantages of our country when in comes to attracting business and investment.
EU Approach
Given the dynamic role it has been playing in global growth, the region offers potential market opportunities for European companies, including small- and medium-sized enterprises. In this regard, the EU has sought to negotiate ambitious Free Trade agreements with Asian countries, something that Portugal strongly supports.
In addition to trade and investment, Europe and Asia must also intensify exchange, particularly within the scope of issues related to global governance and security.
Like Portugal, the EU is a member of ASEM - Asia-Europe Meeting, an intergovernmental process that enables an informal debate between countries in Europe, Asia and Oceania on a number of issues of common interest, such as education, health, sustainable development, economy and foreign policy, with a view to interregional connectivity.
The EU maintains an institutional dialogue with ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations and has developed a Strategy for Central Asia, which has been in force since 2007 and is currently being revised.
Priorities of External Action
If the overall strategy is focused on seeking to counteract geographic distance through regular political and diplomatic contacts (notably within ASEM), the diversity of Asian countries – among themselves, in political, economic, social and cultural terms, but also in what regards the intensity of their relationships with Portugal – requires a differentiated approach and a different definition of priorities according to the partner in question.
As an example, in the case of Timor-Leste, the national priority is to accompany the modernization and full integration of this young State into the international community, by supporting its development in various areas – justice, education, economy, administration, among others – structured around our common language, whose perenniality must be ensured.
In the case of the People's Republic of China, Portugal intends to consolidate the existing strategic partnership, reinforcing and expanding the areas of cooperation, without prejudice to a highly economic priority, aimed at facilitating Portuguese exports and attracting investment. Portugal supports the Eurasian connectivity and seeks to ensure that the existing dialogue between the EU and the PRC within the framework of the Connectivity Platform will allow Portugal to enter the ambitious Chinese initiative "One Belt, One Road".
Portugal values the role played by the Macao Special Administrative Region of the PRC as a platform for an enhanced cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries in economic and trade matters, as well as for the promotion of the Portuguese language in Asia.
In India, the Portuguese Government aims at relaunching a forward-looking relationship based on the common development of technologies that contribute to the modernization and international promotion of both countries, without neglecting the protection and promotion of the common historical and cultural heritage, as well as the defence of the interests of the Portuguese citizens.
Central Asia
In recent years, the Central Asian region has received renewed attention from the international community. The increasing opening and interconnection of the markets of the Central Asian countries, totalling approximately 70 million consumers, to the international trade chain, opens up new business opportunities for Europe and Portugal. In 2015, Portugal opened an embassy in Kazakhstan.
Challenges and Opportunities
According to the IMF - International Monetary Fund, the Asian region will continue to lead the global economic growth in coming years, with rates above 6% per year. The Portuguese diplomacy will continue to identify and publicize the enormous opportunities for trade and investment, as well as to support and encourage Portuguese companies wishing to internationalize to this part of the world.
In addition to the desired densification of our portfolio of agreements and protocols, which enable us to bilaterally diversify the range of sectors in which we establish relationships with each Asian country, Portugal will continue to play an active role in the construction of the European policy for the region, particularly by supporting negotiations aimed at further liberalizing the Eurasian trade and investment, while safeguarding the interests and competitiveness of the national companies and citizens.
The reformulation of the US policy towards Asia is an opportunity that should be seized by the European Union to intensify the Eurasian connectivity, in particular by taking advantage of the openness shown by the Chinese leadership to work towards the fight against protectionism and to assert itself as a global player, for example, by strengthening its cooperation with the region with regard to security and the fight against climate change.
Portugal should capitalize on its historic heritage in the region to spread the teaching of the Portuguese language and promote knowledge of our culture in Asia.
