Need India-Portugal joint expertise in various areas of economy: Portuguese President

Terming India as an "economic and social" global power, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Saturday said the country's priority is to have joint expertise in various areas of the economy.

A forum, organised by industry bodies, CII, ASSOCHAM and Ficci, was also attended by Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, Secretary of State of Internationalisation of Portuguese Republic, Eurico Brilhante Dias, and Union Minister for Railways and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, besides industry leaders from the two countries.

"India is a global power. It's an economic global power, it is social global power. It is the largest democracy in the world. It is a trustable partner," Sousa said in his keynote address at the India-Portugal Business Forum here.

"We are trustable. The evolution about the economy shows it," the President said.

Stating that both India and Portugal know each other for a long time, Sousa said both Portugal and India are not just the European or Asian countries or cultures but they are "universal".

"We like building bridges. We are very good at it," he said adding that be it in the area of culture, education, scientific or economic, the nations are good at buildings bridges.

"For very long, we converged multilaterally, I mean established diplomatic relations," Sousa said.

The President said the two countries work with the world, for the world be it for the peace, freedom, sustainable development or climate change.

"The priority for us to have your expertise, our expertise, joint expertise as quickly. And this is the right time. First of all, India is a global power. It is an economic global power and is a social global power, it is the largest democracy in the world. He said the business community has a role to play in the economic bilateral because politicians create the framework. They open the way, they paved the way but they do not act in economics, in business every day."