In a press conference alongside President João Lourenço, as part of the official visit to the country that began this Tuesday, Luís Montenegro was asked what changes for citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) with the recent changes to the immigration policy approved by its executive.
"In the case of the CPLP countries there has been no change, the path is open, the door is open and it is a preferential door", he stated.
Montenegro anticipated possible criticism of xenophobia towards other countries and said it wanted to reaffirm this option "very clearly": "Portuguese-speaking countries and their citizens have, from the point of view of our migration policy, a preferential gateway. It is a preferential door for cultural, historical reasons, sharing of language, sharing of values that have a value and we assume it".
Montenegro was also asked whether he expects the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to veto the IRS discharge diploma (which is based on a PS project) and gave a short answer.
"We await decisions made by His Excellency the President of the Republic with just one word: tranquility", he simply stated.
Still on the issue of visas, the Portuguese prime minister highlighted that Angola was the "second country that requested the most CPLP visas", with an "approval rate of 89 percent".
Asked how many Angolan citizens expect to be able to apply for these visas in the future, Montenegro replied that it will depend on the applications, but promised "the response will be as quick as possible".
"We will give this response with a philosophy that is increasingly to adapt the instruments that regulate our migratory flows with the dignification of people, with the dignity with which they are treated, whether for obtaining visas or, above all, for activities they are looking for," he said.
In this regard, Montenegro once again highlighted one of the protocols signed this Tuesday with Angola and which provides that the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training will provide training in this country, both for those who remain to work in the domestic market and for those who intend to go to Portugal.
Reiterating the Government's intention to "streamline procedures and reinforce the human resources of consular posts", Montenegro said that "at once" Portugal values the granting of visas to Angolan citizens and their qualification for the professional activity for which they are applying, "thereby facilitating their integration, their reception and their dignification".
At the Presidential Palace, in his initial speech at the joint press conference with João Lourenço, Montenegro highlighted the signing of twelve legal documents between the two countries on matters ranging from education to justice, from tourism to public administration, from finance to culture, from health and medicine policy.
"Portugal's relationship with Angola and Angola's relationship with Portugal is a relationship of all times, difficult times, less difficult times and successful times and years of success are expected, fortunately, for both nations and for both people", he predicted.
Montenegro promised, during his visit, to appeal to Portuguese companies to invest in Angola and ask national businesspeople to "believe in this country and in the opportunities that open up here", after having announced the reinforcement of the Portugal-Angola credit line by 500 millions of euros.
"These are not just numbers, this is a reality, it is the capacity to do, it is the capacity to produce, it is the capacity to provide employment, it is the capacity to offer a future to many Angolan families and also to many Portuguese families", he considered.
The Portuguese Prime Minister left a message of confidence about the future relations between the two countries: "We are together in the political relationship, we are together in the economy, in investment, in trade, in the preservation and appreciation of our language, our culture, our ability to qualify and graduate. On a final note, we are together to build the future".
