Luís Montenegro appears to make concessions during visit of Angola’s president
In spite of all the tweaks the government has approved to laws on the entry of foreigners into Portugal, and the time it should take befor they apply for Portuguese nationality, prime minister Luís Montenegro has pledged, during the visit last weekend of the president of Angola, to create preferential conditions for citizens from the African country (formerly a Portuguese colony), as a thank-you for their “invaluable contribution” to the Portuguese economy.
Mr Montenegro was speaking at the Palácio das Necessidades in Lisbon, alongside Angolan President João Lourenço.
In his speech, the prime minister repeated expressions he had used about a year ago during his official visit to Angola, emphasising that the two countries have ‘an umbilical relationship’, ‘at all times’, and that they “never fail” each other.
“And this spirit is also very present in the respective communities: the Angolan community living in Portugal, which collaborates in Portugal for the economic and social development of our country, and also the Portuguese community living in Angola, which reciprocally fulfils the same mission,” he stressed.
The PM signed 11 cooperation instruments during João Lourenço’s visit, in areas such as transport, security and the Portuguese language, which join the 12 signed a year ago when he was in Luanda. Halso noted the importance of this visit taking place in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of Angola’s independence and expressed his intention to continue “a shared path” with this country.
“More than partners, I am inclined to say today that we are in fact brother countries, and that makes all the difference. The fact that we have such a close, fraternal, but solid day-to-day relationship based on mutual trust means that we are not only ready at all times, but always ready to take care of our future,” he said.
The prime minister wished João Lourenço “continued excellent work at the helm of Angola” and congratulated him on his achievements in the international arena, at a time when he is also assuming the presidency of the African Union.
At no time during the visit were the government’s changes to the foreigners law, or to the nationality law, mentioned. These are currently with the Constitutional Court, as President Marcelo has raised concerns about their legality.
Source material: LUSA
