"And we need each other, and we know that we only gain by treating each other well, because those who treat each other badly are treated badly, and above all, they lose the opportunity to treat each other well," added Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at Belém Palace in Lisbon, with João Lourenço at his side.
The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, began an official visit to Portugal this Friday, at a time when changes are underway to the legal regime governing the entry of foreigners – which the Portuguese President submitted to the Constitutional Court on Thursday – and to the nationality law, promoted by the PSD/CDS-PP government led by Luís Montenegro, which affect citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) countries.
Regarding Angolans living in Portugal, the Portuguese head of state stated: "We have in Portugal a huge, beloved, respected, and fertile Angolan community, very stable, growing recently, and consistently being one of the top three communities in Portugal."
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highlighted the contribution of this community, "of at least 80,000 Angolan brothers and sisters, in all areas of activity," and particularly in the social sector, "in the field of private charities, charities, and formal and informal care."
The Portuguese President then spoke of the Portuguese, "certainly over 100,000," who live and work in Angola, "with more than 1250 companies that are part of the Angolan business community."
"This means that our Angolan brothers and sisters feel comfortable in Portugal and that our Portuguese compatriots feel comfortable in Angola," he stated.
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has spent almost eight years working alongside João Lourenço as heads of state of Portugal and Angola, the two "were in constant contact," reflecting the reality of relations between their respective peoples.
"We have been faithful to our people," he asserted, addressing his counterpart, whom he called an "illustrious friend" and thanking for the "climate that has been created over the years."
The Portuguese head of state highlighted Friday's meeting between the President of Angola and Luís Montenegro (Portuguese Prime Minister) as "crucial," for which "very important steps have been taken, are being taken, and will be discussed with the Prime Minister in economic, financial, political, diplomatic, social, educational, and cultural cooperation."
Furthermore, he emphasized that "there will be a summit at the end of the year between the European Union and the African Union," with João Lourenço as the African Union's president and the former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, as the European Council's president.
"Look at the coincidences of the world," commented Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, noting that it was "Portugal in Europe that initiated the first two summits between the European Union and the African Union."
At the end of his speech, the Portuguese President expressed the hope that the relationship between the peoples and states of Angola and Portugal would have "even more of a future than it has in the present or in the past."
"We know that in crucial moments, Angola relies on Portugal, as we did, for example, during the 'troika,' on Angola. At a time of financial loss, even in the banking sector, Angolan support came, and we have not forgotten that," he stated.
João Lourenço, who is also the acting president of the African Union, arrived at Belém Palace at 11:00 am and was received with military honors in the Pátio dos Bichos.
He then met privately with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, followed by a meeting with their respective delegations. At the end, the two presidents made statements to the media without taking questions.
