Portuguese Foreign Minister's visit to Vietnam: Inaugurates embassy, expands cooperation space, lays groundwork for “unicorns”
WVR - On the occasion of Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel's official visit to Vietnam, Vietnamese Ambassador to Portugal Nguyen Manh Thang shared with The World and Vietnam Report the significance and key focuses of the visit.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Portugal Nguyen Manh Thang presents the Letter of Credence from President Luong Cuong to Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on January 5. (Photo: Chu Van) |
Ambassador, could you share the significance and key highlights of Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel's visit to Vietnam?
At the invitation of Politburo Member and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel will officially visit Vietnam from February 27 to March 1. This visit is significant as it reaffirms the political determination of the leaders of both countries to deepen and enhance the effectiveness of Vietnam-Portugal cooperation.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Portugal Nguyen Manh Thang. (Photo: Chu Van) |
For Portugal, the visit demonstrates the importance and high priority placed on relations with Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Southeast Asia. For Vietnam, welcoming the Portuguese Foreign Minister aligns with the consistent foreign policy of the Party and State, which values developing relations with EU member states, including Portugal.
The key focus of this visit is to discuss specific measures to enhance political trust, coordination, and mutual support between the two countries in international organizations and forums. It aims to create breakthroughs in trade-investment cooperation, science and technology, education and training, culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges. On this occasion, the Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs will attend the inauguration of the Portuguese Embassy in Hanoi.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025. (Source: VNA) |
What is the significance of the Portuguese Foreign Minister's visit to Vietnam at a time when both countries are opening permanent diplomatic missions in each other's capitals and after the milestone of 50 years of diplomatic relations, Ambassador?
The visit of the Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs to Vietnam takes place as both countries recently celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations and are establishing permanent diplomatic missions in each other's capitals in 2025. This reflects the Portuguese government's increasing appreciation of its relationship with Vietnam, a reliable political partner with significant economic cooperation potential.
I believe that following the meetings between President Luong Cuong and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025, and the official visit to Portugal by Politburo Member and Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac in November 2025, this visit by the Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs will significantly advance the cooperation directions agreed upon by the high-level leaders of both sides. It will open up broader cooperation spaces, especially in fields of long-term importance.
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| Delegates cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Vietnamese Embassy in Portugal on November 25, 2025, in Lisbon. (Source: VNA) |
Recently, when receiving the Letter of Credence from President Luong Cuong, the Portuguese President requested Vietnam to facilitate investment by Portuguese "unicorn" companies, especially in new fields such as science and technology, renewable energy, and digital transformation. Does the Embassy have any plans or roadmaps to realize the proposal of one of the EU's important partners?
During my meeting with him right after presenting the Letter of Credence from President Luong Cuong, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highly appreciated Vietnam's dynamic economic development and requested Vietnam to facilitate investment by Portuguese "unicorn" companies.
Although Portugal is a relatively small country in terms of area and population in Europe, it is a leader in the EU in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and renewable energy—fields where both Vietnam and Portugal seek cooperation.
Over the past two decades, many Portuguese private companies have successfully started up and become "unicorn" enterprises in these fields, including Talkdesk (founded in 2011, valued at $10 billion), OutSystems (2001 - 9 billion USD), Farfetch (2007 - 6 billion USD), Sword Health (2015 - 4 billion USD), Remote (2019 - 3 billion USD), Anchorage (2017 - 3 billion USD)…
To attract Portuguese "unicorn" companies to invest in Vietnam, the Embassy has been proactively identifying the needs and fields in which these companies can invest in Vietnam. We are coordinating with ministries, sectors, and localities to organize business delegations, forums, and seminars to connect and promote investment cooperation between companies from both countries. We are also researching and recommending measures to encourage these companies to invest in Vietnam.
Additionally, the Embassy is actively exploring opportunities to bring major Vietnamese companies to seek business and investment opportunities in the Portuguese market.
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| The first Community Tet in Portugal on February 14. (Photo: Chu Van) |
Over the past 50 years, cultural and educational exchanges, especially language, have always been promoted between the two countries. In the new context of opening embassies in Lisbon and Hanoi and the determination to elevate bilateral relations to new heights, how do you assess the potential for cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, as well as the Embassy's efforts as a bridge of friendship?
Portugal was one of the first Western countries to establish trade relations with Vietnam when Portuguese traders arrived in Vietnam as early as the 15th century. This relationship became particularly special when Portuguese missionary Francisco de Pina came to Vietnam and laid the foundation for the Latinization of the Vietnamese script. Recently, cultural exchanges, educational cooperation, and sports between the two countries have developed positively, contributing to the promotion of friendship and multifaceted cooperation.
Although the Embassy has been officially operational for a short time, it has actively promoted cultural, educational, sports cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges through activities connecting cooperation between localities and universities of the two countries. Additionally, through the Portugal-Vietnam Friendship Association and the Portuguese Cultural Association, the Embassy has organized various activities to promote and introduce the culture and image of Vietnam to Portuguese friends.
I am confident that with the determination to elevate Vietnam-Portugal relations to new heights by the high-level leaders of both countries, especially after the opening of embassies in each other's capitals, cultural, educational, sports cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges will develop robustly, becoming one of the important drivers to enhance the overall Vietnam-Portugal relationship in the future.
Thank you very much, Ambassador!
