The President of the Assembly of the Republic (AR), Augusto Santos Silva, assured this Monday that there is no relationship problem between Portugal and Qatar, emphasizing that all Portuguese residents in that Asian country “can be calm”.
“My responsibilities today are no longer that of conducting foreign policy, but I can reassure everyone. There is no problem in the relationship between Portugal and Qatar, who have an intense diplomatic relationship. Qatar is one of the states in the Gulf where we are a resident ambassador and it is a strategic region for us”said the second figure of the Portuguese state.
Augusto Santos Silva, speaking to journalists in Doha, on the sidelines of a meeting with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Fernando Gomes, assured that the safety of Portuguese residents in Qatar was not at stake, despite the criticism of the Portuguese Football Federation . President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Prime Minister, António Costa, on human rights violations by Qatar.
“The Portuguese living here can rest easy, because if there is one thing that characterizes Portuguese foreign policy, it is the external action of all sovereign bodies, it always prioritizes the well-being, interests, security and tranquility from everyone.” Portuguese living in almost all parts of the world”said the president of AR.
Augusto Santos Silva recalled “the unsurpassed support” that the Qatari authorities provided to Portugal on the occasion of the death of the former Portuguese ambassador to the country Ricardo Pracana, in 2020, but not only.
“When we had to remove dozens and dozens of people from Afghanistan, namely Afghans who had collaborated with the Portuguese forces, in a very difficult operation, we managed to do it because we had Pakistan’s support, on the land route, and Qatar, on the air route. These things are not forgotten. Just as the position that Qatar has taken in the United Nations General Assembly in condemning the war in Ukraine is not forgotten, and the geopolitical and geoeconomic importance that this region has in the world”he stressed.
The AR president also said that on the agenda of the meetings he will hold with the Qatari authorities “there are all topics that are of interest to both Portugal and Qatar”and stated that all countries “need to make much progress on human rights.”
“We all need to make a lot of progress in human rights, relations and mutual understanding. We need to move forward, consolidate the areas where we are strong and improve the areas where we are not strong, and this applies to all countries, including Portugalhe concluded.
Source: DN
