Speech by the President of the Government - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

Full text of the speech delivered on Tuesday by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, via digital transmission, at the opening session of CILPE2025 - 4th International Conference on the Portuguese and Spanish Languages:

“I greet you all from the archipelago of the Azores.

I deeply regret not being able to be with you physically today in Praia, which would have been a personal and institutional honour.

The urgent responsibilities of regional governance during this period of debate and voting for the 2026 Regional Plan and Budget prevent me from being here and there with you.

However, I still wanted to be part of this 4th International Conference on the Portuguese and Spanish Languages, even if from a distance.

And I do so with a great sense of timing and relevance.

So as to avoid being completely absent, I am making myself present through this audiovisual format, and I ask for your understanding regarding this alternative.

Firstly, I would like to warmly congratulate the Organisation of Ibero-American States and all the co-organising entities for this magnificent initiative.

The decision to hold CILPE2025 on the African continent, and specifically in Cape Verde, is, as your programme document states, "decentralising and symbolic." Above all, it is profoundly strategic.

In fact, I applaud this choice.

In a year when Cape Verde celebrates 50 years of independence, this conference in the city of Praia is a fitting recognition of Cape Verde's role as a nation of dialogue and a living example of interculturality.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer a special and warm greeting to the Cape Verdean people, who have a significant community on our Azores islands.

This conference brings together policymakers and leading experts. It rightly emphasises the role of Macaronesia as a cultural, scientific and economic bridge between continents.

The Azores, whose regional government I have the honour of presiding over, are a founding and integral part of this community of Atlantic archipelagos—together with our brothers and sisters from Cape Verde, the Canary Islands and Madeira.

The ocean we share does not separate us; it unites us. Within this network of islands that charts the routes of the Atlantic, the archipelago of the Azores takes on a truly unique geostrategic position.

We are, due to our unchanging geography, the European region closest to the Americas.

This proximity is not, however, a mere geographical fact.

It is a historical, cultural, human and economic reality that has shaped our very identity.

The Azores are and have always been, due to their calling and history, a meeting point for routes, a haven and a starting point for exchanges between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

For this reason, we understand all too well the importance of the central themes that bring us together here today.

The motto — Multilingualism, Interculturality, Citizenship — perfectly reflects the challenges of our time.

Our languages, Portuguese and Spanish, account for a community of almost 850 million speakers.

This is an extraordinary asset.

Their true value is not merely demographic; it is a strategic potential for social cohesion, for the defence of democratic values, for the promotion of global and inclusive citizenship, which recalls and preserves the historical legacy of cosmopolitanism, inclusive universalism, and multiculturalism.

In a rapidly changing world, with serious risks of civilisational, atavistic and isolationist setbacks, full of unacceptable phobias, we must prepare ourselves to emerge victorious from this battle, as well as from the modern challenges of Artificial Intelligence and the emergence of sustainable development practices.

In this regard, the bridge of wisdom that cooperation between our linguistic spaces can awaken, in general and particularly in digital communication, may be relevant.

The debates that will take place in this conference on the geopolitics of languages, mobility and the creative economy are crucial for us to draw up joint lines of action.

Therefore,  reiterate the full commitment of the Government of the Azores to the values and goals of this conference.

Allow me to highlight the value of the Portuguese and Spanish languages as marks of future communication, combining culture and identity with strategies for liquid futures; for the liquid modernity we live in.

This conference on multilingualism can and should be an essential pillar for this geopolitical challenge.

In fact, the effective consolidation of our common space will transcend the "community of affection" that we already are, reaching the level of a cohesive and strategic community in terms of its overall influence on the global stage.

The Atlantic Ocean is the geo-economic and geo-strategic axis that unites us.

Its sustainable management, which we oversee, will make it safer and more enduring. We must make this a driving force for our cohesion.

Therefore, I would like to pass on a final message of commitment.

One of the major challenges ahead of us will undoubtedly be the implementation of a truly "Ibero-American Atlantic Pact," focused on the joint governance of our cultural identity and natural resources.

Due to our unique historical and geographical position as the European region closest to the Americas, the Azores not only have an interest in this process, but are also fully committed and determined to promote it and play an active role in its implementation, if this is the wish of all partners.

You can count on the Azores.

I wish all participants a very fruitful meeting. May the city of Praia, today the heart of Macaronesia, give rise to decisive contributions to the future of our vibrant global community: the Ibero-American community.

Thank you very much."