Portugal sends top politicians to Hannover Messe – EURACTIV.de
Prime Minister António Costa, Economics Minister António Costa Silva and Education Minister Elvira Fortunato traveled to Germany for the world’s largest industrial trade fair.
In Hanover, your country is represented by 109 companies and executives and government representatives. Portugal’s presence can boost relations between Portugal and Germany “in the coming years,” Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho, who also attended the fair, said on Wednesday (June 1).
“Relationships of closeness, trust and shared ideas are being forged at all levels, which I believe will benefit our relationship in the years to come,” the foreign minister told the news agency Lusa.
Costa and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stood side by side at the opening of the Hannover Messe on Sunday.
Portugal is represented by companies active in engineering solutions, energy and digital ecosystems, focusing on the equipment and metalworking, mobility, automation and robotics, textiles and engineering plastics and renewable energy sectors.
“The contacts between our companies and their partners or script customers were very interesting. I heard they exceeded expectations,” said Gomes Cravinho.
“There is a second dimension that I hope will be transformative, and that is the legacy that this massive presence will leave for the future,” the Foreign Minister said.
“This week in Hanover was all about the question of why it makes sense to work in Portugal, with Portugal and with Portuguese companies. We expect that this will not only benefit the companies represented here, but also others in the Portuguese industry,” he explained.
The Foreign Minister expects that this experience has “opened the eyes” of German companies to “Portugal’s potential, which has not been adequately tapped until now.”