𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚–𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝟓𝟎: 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫

In a symbolic gesture marking the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Portugal, the Ambassador of Portugal to India, 𝐉𝐨ã𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐚, called on 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐂. 𝐏. 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐧 at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai, on Monday (June 9). This was a courtesy visit, also attended by 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚.

“Portugal and India share a profound historical bond, but our focus today is on strengthening future cooperation, especially in trade,” the Ambassador remarked. He also conveyed Portugal’s intent to formalize this collaboration by signing a 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 with the state of Maharashtra.

🎉 𝐀 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫

“This year is especially significant,” the Ambassador emphasized, “as it marks half a century since India and Portugal re-established diplomatic ties.” He added that efforts are being intensified to enhance bilateral cooperation in key areas including 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲. He also informed the Governor that he is scheduled to meet over 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢 as part of his visit.

📊 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐩 & 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Highlighting the human connection between the two countries, the Ambassador shared that approximately 𝟏.𝟐𝟓 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 reside in Portugal and are well integrated into its society. “Indians are highly skilled, and Portugal has a growing need for such talent,” he said.

🧳 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 & 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬

The Ambassador proudly noted that 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, after Scandinavian nations, and remains a top destination for global tourism. He expressed a strong interest in expanding 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚.

🗣️ 𝐀 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤

Portuguese, he noted, is spoken in over 𝟏𝟓 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 including Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, and East Timor—making it one of the most globally relevant languages.

📘 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞

Welcoming the Ambassador, Governor Radhakrishnan said that he has recommended to Maharashtra universities, in his role as Chancellor, to offer at least one European language such as Portuguese or Spanish. “Learning international languages opens up global career and business opportunities for students,” he noted.

📈 𝐔𝐒𝐃 𝟏𝟎 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭

The Governor further suggested that Portugal focus on high-potential sectors such as 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐈𝐓, 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬, and aim to scale up bilateral trade from the current 𝐔𝐒𝐃 𝟏.𝟐 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐒𝐃 𝟏𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧