Parliamentary Delegation led by H.E. Mr. Marcos Perestrello de Vasconcellos, Vice President of the Portuguese Parliament, called on the Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, in Parliament today.
Underlining the importance of bilateral relations between the two countries, Harivansh stated that the relations of India and Portugal are rooted in deep friendship, mutual respect, shared democratic values, historical & maritime connections and cultural & diaspora linkages. He recalled that the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Portugal was celebrated in the year 2025 making the year very special for both the countries.
Harivansh appreciated key role played by Portugal towards promoting India’s engagement with European union – hosting the first India -EU summit in year 2000 and also first India- EU + 27 leaders summit held in Porto in 2021. He noted that the highly successful 16th India-EU Summit was co-chaired by Mr. Antonio Costa, the former Prime Minister of Portugal in capacity as President of European Council alongwith President of European Commission and our PM,Shri Narendra Modi.It led to big outcomes including conclusion of India-EU FTA negotiations.
Highlighting the political cooperation between the two countries, Shri Harivansh stated that regular high-level interactions and exchanges have guided the bilateral relations with growing cooperation across several sectors. He noted that the first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Montengero on the sidelines of G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2024 covered the long-standing ties with a focus on enhancing economic linkages.
Harivansh observed that as two vibrant democracies, India and Portugal have a history of Parliamentary exchanges and emphasized that Parliamentary exchanges must be encouraged, especially among young members of Parliament who represent the future of both the countries.
Appreciating growth in bilateral trade,Harivansh mentioned that India and Portugal has shown a healthy trend in this direction as cooperation across several sectors such as Green and renewable energy, digital technologies, electronic items and defence have consistently strengthened in addition to traditional trade in textiles, cork, agriculture products, machinery. He further highlighted that there is considerable bilateral investment between both the countries across sectors including real estate, hotel and hospitality, IT, and telecommunications, pharmaceuticals.
Harivansh expressed his satisfactionto note that there is growing interest in Portugal towards Indian culture and philosophy, yoga and Ayurveda, music, dance, cuisine and films. He highlighted that the large, vibrant and multi-layered Indian diaspora in Portugal represents historical and enduring cultural linkages between India and Portugal. He noted that the most well-known among them is the former Prime Minister,Mr. António Costa, who is an overseas Citizen of India.
The Deputy Chairman observed that the Indo-Portuguese community with their cultural and ancestral ties to India, act as a bridge connecting the two nations and reinforcing the bilateral ties. He emphasized that India and Portugal must continue to promote cooperation in the area of culture, given the shared cultural heritage and historical linkages across centuries.
Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Chairman reaffirmed the existence of natural synergies and complementarities between India and Portugal. He emphasized that India and Portugal must continue their efforts to forge closer ties, explore new opportunities and realize the full potential of a forward-looking partnership.
