The consular reform being prepared by the government will allow everyone “to have a consulate on their mobile phone,” Prime Minister António Costa told members of the Portuguese community in New York.
The Prime Minister spoke Tuesday evening in New York, this morning in Lisbon, at a reception at the official residence of Portugal’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ana Paula Zacarias.
In a five-minute speech, António Costa argued that: “it is essential to strengthen relations more and more” between the Portuguese living in Portugal and those scattered around the world, “ties essential to maintain and promote their transition from generation to generation”.
In this regard, he spoke of “the work being prepared” for the digitization and dematerialization of the consular system: “A consular reform that will ensure that consulates can not only function in better conditions physically, but also that we can each have a consulate on their mobile phone.”
“It’s a very big effort that needs to be made, but we need to achieve it so that we can use the new technological tools so that we can all be more together”the prime minister added.
The reference to the physical condition of the consulates caused a smile in the audience.
In the intervention, António Costa left “a word of recognition” to the Portuguese community in New York, pointing to emigrants as “the best face of representation” of the country abroad, “without disregard” for diplomats.
The prime minister stressed the “very important” changes to the law for the acquisition of nationality by Portuguese descendants.
Externally, he referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in order to defend the sometimes disputed importance of institutions such as the UN and the defense of international law.
“The brutality with which the war returned to Europe on February 24 reminded us all that international law is indeed an essential asset that must be preserved in order to guarantee peace, freedom, the right to self-determination, the right to sovereignty, the territorial integrity of any state and anywhere in the world”, considered.
António Costa thanked the Portuguese UN officials who attended this reception, which was also attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, and of Education, João Costa, and the Secretary of State for the Sea, José Maria Costa.
Recalling the struggle for the right to self-determination of East Timor, today an independent member state of the United Nations, the Prime Minister stated that “support to the United Nations is paramount” and with a Portuguese Secretary-General, António Guterres, “it’s a special taste”.
António Costa arrived in New York on Monday to participate in the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, in which he will speak on Thursday.
On September 10, the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities said the government had planned, under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), “the virtual consulate that should be operational by 2026”, but wants to bring that deadline forward.
According to Paulo Cafôfo, the government plans that “on June 10, this virtual consulate will already be operational and will serve Portuguese and Portuguese women living abroad”, who will thus be able to carry out some matters “with digital resources”. .
In an interview with RTP Internacional, the official pointed out that this reorganization involves “several areas of government, which need to be articulated”.
Source: DN
