Lisbon, Nov. 5, 2024 (Lusa) - The government has earmarked €1.7 million for Portugal's application to join the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member in 2027-2028, a process that will be launched this week in New York, the minister of foreign affairs has announced.

"Let it be a good omen of the role our country can play in the world," said Paulo Rangel, during the joint hearing in the Parliament by the Budget, Finance and Public Administration, Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities and European Affairs committees, on Monday evening, as part of the committee stage debate on the 2025 draft state budget bill.

In his speech, the minister announced the creation, within the ministry of foreign affairs, of the Directorate-General for European and International Law, which "will have a transversal function throughout the ministry" and will interact with all government departments in these areas.

Regarding the ministry of foreign affairs' budget for next year, Paulo Rangel said that it had increased by 10.1%, to a total of €472.9 million, compared to 2024, noting that the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP) had been transferred to the ministry of the economy, and that this year its budget totalled €244.9 million.

A budget that, he emphasised, "is committed to the enhancement of careers", with an allocation of €218 million (8.9% more, equivalent to €17.9 million) for staff costs.

Rangel also highlighted "the main axes of Portuguese foreign policy: the European pillar, the CPLP, NATO, multilateralism, Portuguese-speaking countries and Portuguese communities".

"These are constants of foreign policy that have to be included and pursued in this new and complex context," he considered, saying that the ministry's budget is intended "precisely to adapt its tools and instruments to this more hostile environment, almost making it seem as if climate change has infected geopolitics and made it unpredictable and indomitable."

JH/AYLS // AYLS

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