Portugal’s Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho defended on Thursday that expatriate businessmen should take advantage of domestic opportunities, which would also contribute to the fight against desertification.
“In our diaspora there is a strong memory of connection with parts of the country that have been forgotten by expatriate business people who returned to the coastal strip and paid little attention to the opportunities inland”the government official said at the opening of the annual meeting of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, which ends on Thursday in Cascais.
In his intervention, the Foreign Minister said yes “a great desire on the part of the diaspora business community to invest in a country far removed from the one their parents left 20, 30 or 40 years agoa country with complex challenges, including the problem of territorial cohesion and some desertification of the interior”.
João Gomes Cravinho thought about that the Diaspora Council “is an institution the government must work with to implement the ESG strategy adopted in Septembertogether with public institutions, such as municipal councils and business associations,” adding that the council would be “fundamental to the work” of the executive.
During the intervention the government official also addressed emerging concerns related to environmental sustainability, governance and social issues (ESG), as these have evolved from a marketing issue to a central concern for governments.
“The requirements that will be imposed by law from 2027, with ESG requirements for companies, evolved from simple branding or marketing concerns decades ago, when we thought climate change would be an issue that our grandchildren would have to deal with,” said Joao Gomes Cravinho.
“In 15 or 20 years we realized that it would not be a problem for our grandchildren, but for ourselves, and that is why the theme of this meeting is very relevant” of emigrant entrepreneurs: ‘Sustainability: what a present and what a future,’ the government official concluded.
Source: DN
