Tokyo, Sept. 11, 2025 (Lusa) - Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced on Thursday that Portugal and Japan will elevate their bilateral relationship to a "strategic partnership," which will constitute a "new phase" in cooperation between the two countries.
‘This is not just a vague designation, an expression, it is a commitment to take our cooperation further in terms of culture, economics and the development of new areas of relationship,’ said Montenegro at the end of a working meeting with outgoing Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba on the first day of his official visit to Japan.
The head of government highlighted security and defence, new technologies, energy and the sharing of scientific knowledge between educational institutions as areas to be developed in the future in bilateral relations.
"This strategic partnership illustrates a common desire to work together, to converge and to deal with our political, economic and cultural relations in a positive, efficient and consistent manner," he said.
At the beginning of the meeting, Montenegro had already thanked Prime Minister Ishiba for his words of solidarity with Portugal regarding the August fires and the recent accident with the Elevador da Glória in Lisbon, which caused 16 deaths.
Montenegro was received at Kantei, the official residence of the Japanese prime minister, with a guard of honour, and in his final statement, without taking questions (contrary to what was indicated in the programme), Montenegro highlighted the 480-year relationship between the two countries, considering that his two- day visit to Japan "is proof of friendship and an opportunity".
In the political sphere, the prime minister stated that the joint declaration establishing the strategic partnership will mean "greater regularity" in meetings between the two countries, highlighting that today the ministers of foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, and the minister of the economy and territorial cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, met with their Japanese counterparts.
On the economic front, the prime minister pointed out that there are more than a thousand Portuguese companies active in the Japanese market, in areas as diverse as agriculture, industry, medicines and energy, to which the strategic partnership will add others such as civil protection and security and defence.
"We also want to preserve what has been a common heritage at the cultural and linguistic level. I would like to highlight the fact that there are many Japanese people learning Portuguese and also that Japanese is taught in Portugal," he said.
Montenegro also pointed to the Osaka Expo2025, which he will visit on Friday, as "perfect testimony to this dimension of political, cultural and economic cooperation" and welcomed the success of the event, noting that the Portuguese Pavilion alone "has already been visited by more than 1.4 million citizens".
At the international level, he stressed that there is "a very large convergence" of positions with Japan, taking the opportunity to reiterate the condemnation of Russia "for the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine", without, however, referring to Poland's recent denunciation of the incursion of Russian drones into its airspace.
Before the Japanese Prime Minister, Montenegro also condemned North Korea's nuclear and ballistic programme.
"I am absolutely convinced that this visit will mark a new phase in our relationship, the beginning of a strategic partnership that is effectively a new stage, aimed at bringing more well-being and development to our countries," he stressed.
Earlier, the Japanese Prime Minister, who is resigning following his defeat in the July legislative elections, said that cooperation between the two countries "is more important than ever" in view of the "challenging security environment" in the world.
Ishiba pointed out that around 120 Japanese companies operate in Portugal and that "business cooperation in the field of renewable energy and infrastructure continues to grow".
"We hope to see even greater development of trade and investment relations between the two countries," he said, also expressing interest in "contributing to the economic and social development of Portuguese-speaking countries".
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