Speech by the President of the Government - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

Full text of the speech delivered today, in Praia da Vitória, by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, at the opening session of the International Conference "Azores, from the Ocean to Space."

“The first remark that should be made at the beginning of this international conference, to be held in the city of Paria da Vitória, Terceira Island, in the Azores, and part of the various events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), is to congratulate the President of FLAD, Dr. Nuno Morais Sarmento, on the achievements of his administration.

Congratulations on the diversity of events and locations where they are promoted.

FLAD creatively embodies the friendship between two people destined to share the Atlantic Ocean. A sea that brings together the Azores, Portugal, and the United States of America.

Mr President of FLAD, I would like to state that the Government of the Azores recognises the vision you demonstrate in managing the Luso-American Development Foundation, promoting the Azores. We look forward to the continuation and even strengthening of this path.

The creation of this Foundation stems from the deepening of diplomatic relations between Portugal and the United States, based on an understanding of universal geopolitics and geostrategy.

At the heart of these deepening relations, as it has always been throughout history, lies the archipelago of the Azores.

Established under the Cooperation and Defence Agreement between Portugal and the United States, which has always had and continues to have as its main purpose the use of infrastructure and equipment in the Azores by the American Armed Forces, FLAD has been playing an important role in the relations between Portugal and the United States, also with a focus on the Azores.

This is evidenced by the various initiatives and programmes that the Foundation has promoted in cultural, academic and scientific exchange, strengthening the ties between the two countries.

There is room for deepening the relations between Portugal and the United States and improving the instruments of these relations, such as the Cooperation and Defence Agreement. The Azores are instrumental in achieving the best results.

FLAD is also one of those instruments.

I see in its President, Dr Nuno Morais Sarmento, a creative drive that has found the most receptive audience in the Government of the Azores.

I reiterate my determination: this momentum must continue!

Working with our emigrant communities in the United States and with any American institutions willing to share knowledge with the Azores is a priority.  

However, we can and must also take advantage of the fact that we are a region of the European Union and, as such, assert our commitment to contributing to the strengthening of relations within the large regional bloc that borders the North Atlantic.

The moment we are experiencing in the international system, with the inevitable reorganisation of its order, which is now disorder, recommends that we take action with unparalleled foresight in defence of the values established in current international law.   

The political culture shared by Europe and North America in this regard confers responsibilities on both.

There are challenges to overcome in our relations with the United States of America.

We want to value it always and, even, deepen it all the time.

We want to counteract the geographical distance while recognising our proximity.

We intend to counteract our small land area by recognising our territorial size, including our maritime and spatial dimensions.

The sea and space connect us; they are our safe route to the world, to America, to development, to the future.

We want to highlight the opportunities that are available to us there.

In scientific and technological cooperation in the Atlantic.

In cooperation for efficient and effective mastery of the emerging climate, energy and digital transitions.

In mobility and sustainable tourism.

An ever-growing number of American entrepreneurs are investing in the Azores.

Tourist demand for our islands from U.S. citizens has been growing stronger with each passing year.

There is more and more America in the Azores.

It is no longer just the Azores and Portugal in America. There is also more America in the Azores and Portugal.

The Cooperation and Defence Agreement between Portugal and the United States had and has its historical context.

We have no doubts in our conclusions.

It served and serves the interests of the United States.

It served and serves the interests of Portugal.

It served and serves the interests of NATO.

It must continue to serve, as it has done in the past, the interests of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the Azoreans.   

We are currently experiencing a particularly unstable period in the post-World War II international system.  

Therefore, we are in a period conducive to reflecting on the reconstruction of the idea of security and defence in the Atlantic.

We are well aware that the Luso-American Agreement is one of its main elements.

This is a matter that must first be the subject of political understanding in the Azores and Portugal, and between us and the United States of America, our ally.

The XIV Government of the Azores, the second regional government I have presided over, has focused on economic and social development in the Region as a key factor in improving national, European and global recognition of the Azores.

The Azores, with their nine islands, their vast sea and their vast area, are increasingly valuable as an opportunity for fruitful Euro-American understanding on the major issues that affect peace, security and defence in the West, and on opportunities for competitive prosperity in the world for Western liberal democracies and market economies around the globe.

In the Azores, we value the sea as a key factor in our economic competitiveness and growth, as well as in other areas such as the environment, health, security and defence, research and innovation.

The sea is our greatest treasure. We are a significant presence here, accounting for 56% of Portugal's maritime territory, which is substantial within the European Union.

In the Azores, we recognise that this is a time of transition, causes, and goals.

Everyone can contribute to future peace, security and defence, as well as to the prosperity of future economies.

We understand that we can even serve as a laboratory for the future in these emerging transitions.

We are strongly committed to leading by example in possible and useful anticipations of the future for local and global sustainability at the environmental, cultural, social and economic levels. With competitiveness and growth, security and defence, but also with social and territorial cohesion.

In fact, all areas are interconnected and serve as logical causes and effects of one another.

In this regard, I would like to reiterate my appreciation for the programme and agenda of this conference.

They were so well chosen and featured such brilliant and prestigious speakers, who honoured and dignified the Azores with their presence. I am very grateful for their participation, which significantly enhanced the quality of this international conference compared to any forum organised elsewhere.

Events of this kind and magnitude bring prestige and ensure global recognition for the Azores. This makes us proud.  

The Azores have proven to be a geographical, political and regional market with special and growing attractiveness for general investment, particularly in high technology.

The Azores are crucial for digital connections in the North Atlantic and are strengthening their infrastructure with the arrival of new submarine cables such as Google's "Nuvem" and "Sol," which will connect North America to Europe via the Azores.

Simultaneously, a new CAM ring cable will replace the current system, increasing the capacity and resilience of the network connecting Mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira.

All in “smart cable” mode with sensors for various data collection purposes.

“Azores, from the Ocean to Space” summarises the identity of the archipelago, which, despite its rich history, still looks to the future with hope.

We aspire to recognition that the economic and social development of the Azores is part of the goal of a stronger understanding of partnership in the Atlantic.

For this, we first need to rely on the Portuguese Government.

We are aware that the Portuguese Government upholds its constitutional powers concerning matters of state sovereignty across the entire national territory.

However, the Region does not shirk its responsibilities, including those under the Constitution.

One of these responsibilities is to ensure that the principle of subsidiarity is upheld in the relations between the State and the Portuguese Autonomous Regions.

I would also add the principle of territorial continuity to this equation.

Only this principle can ensure the full integration of citizens of a State, separated by an insurmountable geographical discontinuity, into structuring national policies. These policies stem from constitutional rights.

This is the political interaction that must exist in the application of the principles of subsidiarity and territorial continuity that we value in our State's foreign policy options, which are the responsibility of sovereign bodies.

Without understanding what Portugal's construction in the Autonomous Regions should actually be, and without respect for the actions of its own governing bodies, it is impossible to create the conditions for establishing a security policy in the most sensitive part of the national territory in this regard, which is the Azores.

The European Union and NATO are naturally essential to the development and consolidation of a strategy for the Atlantic, as are the States that are members of these organisations.

On our side, we aspire to make the transition from being a region that merely needs support for its development to converge with the European average, to a region that, in addition to its needs, is also a region of opportunities, progress and modernisation. This should be beneficial not only for its people and territory, but also for its country, for the European Union to which it belongs, and for the transatlantic relations it promotes with the United States, which recognises the potential it offers in these contexts.  

The experience acquired by FLAD over its forty years of existence, and the associated institutional credibility, will enable us, together with the Azorean Government, to do more in building Euro-American relations, for the benefit of the States involved and, above all, their peoples.

I am pleased with the involvement of the Azorean Government in the events celebrating FLAD's 40th anniversary.

I assure the President of FLAD that he can continue to count on us for the celebratory events, but also for all other creative events that may be promoted.

I wish FLAD every success, and I hope that this International Conference in Lajes will become a regular event, serving as a forum for discussion of the matters that concern the Foundation.

Thank you."