The president of the republic defended this Tuesday that they will not be hired abroad who could replace the essential elements of the Portuguese armed forces, in a speech in which he again called for its reinforcement, with more troops.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke at a military ceremony commemorating the 49th anniversary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, next to the statue of D. Nuno Álvares Pereira in Jardim Ducla Soares, in Lisbon.
“We do not believe that others hired abroad will be able to replace the essence of our military corps. Even in the social sectors, they are stopgap solutions, transitory and with very limited numerical expression.”said the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
In his speech, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa insisted that in the current situation it is “even more important” that the Portuguese armed forces “be strong so that Portugal is strong”, and that they should always have “personnel and capabilities adapted to their missions”. .
“If not now, in times of war, in times of greater relevance of our armed forces’ role in the world, if not now, when are we going to update capabilities – some of which are out of time – and , more than this, have the number of men and women and have training to give them the right job?” he wondered.
“Without military men and women, we will be able to dream of ships, armored vehicles and airplanes, but we will not have anyone to make them useful,” he added.
It was in this context that the President of the Republic then raised the issue of recruiting foreigners into the armed forces – a possibility he has already expressed his preference for – to argue that they will not be able to deliver the essential part of the armed forces. the Portuguese army.
On this subject, the head of state stated on June 28 last year at a forum on military recruitment in Lisbon’s Teatro Thalia: “We have to get used to the idea of including immigrants in a recruitment source for the Armed Forces”.
Source: DN
