Portugal is “central” for French companies — DNOTICIAS.PT
In the French Senate, a French Business Forum started yesterday between 200 companies and Portuguese companies that want to know each other and cooperate more, with Portugal placing itself as a central country for French companies in technology and the environment.
“Today, Portugal is central to the development of French companies in Europe, because Portugal is one of the countries with the highest growth rate, between 6 to 7% this year, and many companies want to develop in Portuguese-speaking markets, being a official Portuguese language platform explained by Spain”, Richard Gomes, director of Business France in Portugal and in other countries, in statements to Agência Lusa.
Business France is an official body of AICE France, being an official body of the Gallic with about 70 P France in Portugal with the equivalent of the administration to promote as companies and investment in trade.
The February Business Forum, which started today at the French Senate, in Paris, and will last until Friday, is an initiative of Business France as part of the Crusade Season between France and Portugal, which is approaching from both countries.
“In this year 2022, there is a special relationship between France and Portugal, it is an opportunity to develop relations between the two countries, in complementarity, whether in the environment today, in technology, in relationships between people, and, in the Senate, it is important to show this connection to the territories that develop through the cooperation of our companies”, Louis Jean de Nicolay, senator of the Sarthe region, president of the friendship group for France and Portugal in the Senate.
Among the speakers on today in France, as president of the Federal Senate, the ambassadors of Portugal in reference to President Jorge Torres Pereira, and the ambassador in Portugal, Hél-Depromontère. as well as entrepreneurs, lawyers and consultants from French and Portuguese companies.
With France positioning itself as the second to Portugal for services, the first project to bid for new opportunities through the Resilience Recovery Plan and betting on partnerships with national companies.
“As French companies are not just a distributor or supplier in Portugal, they are looking for technological or financial partnerships and even in third countries, such as Brazil”, explained Richard Gomes.
This Forum also serves to put companies in touch, with bilateral meetings promoted in B2B today and on Friday in person format and through videoconference.
For Richard Gomes, even with a market already known as French companies, it is still important to have interlocutors in Portugal due to the language, but also to the culture.
“There is a difficulty that French companies talk to us about a lot in Portugal, which has to do with a difficulty that, like Portuguese companies, they have to say no, making it difficult to understand if the business should continue or not and we have discovered these cultures”, detail .
The Business France office continues to grow in Portugal, adding another employee to its Lisbon office in November.