"Whatever the government and opposition say, to safeguard their doctrinaire principles or to soothe their electorates, there are realities that can be more than speeches or proclamations," the president said. "Fostering exports and attracting investment is essential for us to avoid problems with our external accounts."

The head of state, who was speaking at the closing session of the third Portuguese Tourism Summit in Lisbon, also said that keeping the budget deficit in check was "fundamental for us to avoid setbacks in our internal accounts".

On this year's budget performance, de Sousa said he believed that the government would meet its deficit target for this year. However, where economic growth was concerned he said that "it has not been evident that the development of investment, of exports and even of domestic consumption enables to foresee the desired growth".

That is, he added, "even more reason" to put the stress on attracting investment and diversifying exports.