“We have noted the result of the election, we welcome the President-elect and, for our part, we are committed to continuing with the same level of relationship, both bilaterally and multilaterally,” said Minister Augusto Santos Silva.
Right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, 63, a retired Brazilian Army captain, was elected on Sunday in the second round of presidential elections, as the 38th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, with 55.1 percent of the vote. According to figures from the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Fernando Haddad, a candidate for the Workers’ Party (PT, left), won 44.9 percent of the vote, and abstention was 21percent, out of a total of more than 147.3 million registered voters.
Santos Silva stressed that the two countries have a “very rich” bilateral agenda and, on a multilateral level, are partners in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and the Ibero-American Conference, “two very important regional organisations,” in which Portugal has “worked closely with Brazil,” and intends to continue to do so.
In bilateral terms, Santos Silva said that the depth of the relationship is based, in addition to “historical reasons, of language and cultural proximity,” on three other “no less important” reasons. These are the “presence of strong communities, of Portuguese in Brazil and Brazilians in Portugal,” the minister stressed; the economic relationship; and investment of the two governments in increasing scientific and technological cooperation.
In economic terms, he said, Brazil is no longer, as it used to be, one of Portugal’s ten main trading partners, “but it remains a very important commercial and economic partner,” in the “development of the Portuguese aeronautical cluster,” for example.
Santos Silva said he has “no reason to believe,” that Brazil’s commitment to bilateral relations with Portugal will not be the same, hoping that “as soon as there is a new Government in Brazil (...) from 1 January,” the practice of, “immediate contacts at the highest level between the Brazilian authorities and the Portuguese authorities,” will continue.
In terms of the CPLP, the minister expects the same commitment from Brazil within the organisation.
“Brazil assumed the presidency of the CPLP in the last term, between 2016 and 2018, it had a good presidency, making the multilateral conversation around the objectives of sustainable development a priority and it is a very important partner in the CPLP, which it represented at the highest level, through its President, at the Sal Summit, thus giving every indication that it wants to continue its leading role in the CPLP”, said Santos Silva.