The Economic Forum between Portugal and the United Kingdom, which will resume in 2023, will be launched in 2018 to strengthen bilateral relations post-Brexit, and it will have a “high level” of participation from both governments, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Internationalization announced.
Bernardo Ivo Cruz, whose three-day visit to the United Kingdom ends this Friday, told Lusa Agency that the forum will be held in British territory in the first half of 2023, resuming the event that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. .
Five years ago, the forum took place in London and was attended by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who was welcomed at the official residence in Downing Street by his then British counterpart, Theresa May.
Ivo Cruz said this second edition will be “dedicated to innovation and innovation initiatives” and will be a “high-level gathering” with representation from governments, companies, universities and associations.
“The aim is to think together how to further deepen the relationship between Portugal and the United Kingdom in companies, universities, civil society organizations and governments, to strengthen this leadership role. And more about technology and sustainability,” he told Lusa.
The Secretary of State for Internationalization today concluded a three-day visit to the United Kingdom, which included meetings with Nigel Huddleston, British Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, and Angus MacNeill, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Trade. Scottish National Party.
Bernardo Ivo Cruz also visited Imperial College London and the Universities of Bristol, as well as companies operating in Portugal such as Vodafone and Clarinet.
The aim was to “give some substance” to the Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation signed by Antonio Costa and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the British capital in June this year.
Costa admitted at the time that the document was intended to “relaunch the oldest alliance that exists globally after Brexit”.
The Secretary of State has listed renewable energies, financing for sustainability, the digital economy, the blue economy and ‘smart cities’ as areas of common interest.
“Portugal has a lot to offer the United Kingdom”, he guaranteed, highlighting the pioneering spirit in the energy transition and the wealth of qualified human resources that attracts foreign investment in the technology sector from Europe and America.
In this sense, he said, “there has been a lot of openness on the part of British universities in finding a connection with Portuguese universities” to collaborate in scientific research and bring the technology accelerators of the two countries closer.
According to Ivo Cruz, “Portugal is very interesting because it has what is needed for digitization, which is intelligence”.
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