Speech by His Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic, Mr. Jorge Sampaio, on Presentation of New Year's Greetings by the Diplomatic Corps

Lisbon, Ajuda Palace
06 de Janeiro de 2005


Apostolic Nuncio
Ambassadors and Heads of Mission,

Thank you, Reverend Nuncio, for the New Year wishes conveyed by you on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Lisbon. I gratefully return them, asking everyone present to convey, on behalf of Portugal, my best wishes to your Heads of State, for peace, prosperity and personal well being in this New Year.

This end of this year was sadly blemished by the terrible tragedy in South East Asia. I address my heartfelt condolences to the countries affected by the tsunami of 26 December. The colossal dimension of the tragedy defies our imagination and requires enormous efforts of international solidarity to cope with the situations of humanitarian emergency that have afflicted millions of people and to rehabilitate the devastated areas. I now ask those present to observe a minute of silence in homage to the victims of this disaster.

Excellency
Ambassadors,

I would like to begin by focusing attention on some of the events of 2004.

In the world of the Portuguese-speaking nations – in which the strong economic growth recorded in Brazil is a reason for great satisfaction – I mention, because of their significance, the legislative and presidential elections that took place in Mozambique. I would like to address a word of tribute to President Joaquim Chissano, to whom Mozambique owes so much, who retired with remarkable dignity from active political life, and a word of encouragement to his successor, Armando Guebuza to whom I address my very best wishes of success. In contrast, the situation in Guinea-Bissau has given rise to concern and continues to be affected by dangerous instability. Following this country’s legislative elections in 2004 under particularly difficult circumstances, I appeal to the international community to help Guinea-Bissau to recover its economy and the stability of its political life.

On the European front 2004 was a year filled with achievements. I would like to highlight in particular, the enlargement of the European Union, the signature of the Constitutional Treaty and, finally, the decision to begin negotiations with Turkey with a view to its joining the European Union. These decisions show a strong political dynamic on the part of the Union and the will to adjust the integration project to the realities of our time. It is important now to ratify the Constitutional Treaty to provide a Europe of 25 with a lasting institutional framework able to respond to the challenges confronting it. Whilst still on the subject of Europe I would like to mention events in Ukraine, which eloquently demonstrated the mobilising power of democratic ideals.

On the world stage, current events continued to be marked by the threat of international terrorism, the crisis in Iraq and the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, three situations that feed on each other and contribute to some tension in the relations between the West and Islam. To overcome the challenge of international terrorism - which on March 11 put Spain in mourning - we must make allies of all Muslims who reject the fanatical ideas on which it feeds and that threaten them as much or more than they do us. For this to happen it is necessary to strengthen the dialogue between the West and Islam, in order to overcome prejudices and find platforms of understanding for a common action against terrorism. Meanwhile, there remains the risk that, in Iraq, the foreseen elections may become hostage to the existing climate of violence, whilst in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, there are now greater reasons to hope that it may be possible, in 2005, to break the impasse which has existed since the beginning of this decade.

As far as the economy is concerned we note the persisting weak economic growth in the Euro zone with the consequent difficulties some countries have had in fulfilling the targets of the Stability and Growth Pact, the beginning of a rapid depreciation of the dollar and the continued affirmations of new poles of economic dynamism in Asia, in particular China and India. Relaunching economic growth by carrying out the Lisbon Agenda must clearly be the main priority of the European Union in this area.

Reverend Nuncio,
Ambassadors,

Let us hope that 2005 will be the start of a new cycle in international life, marked by greater cohesion among the international community as regards some of the principles and objectives which, in my view, are vital to create a more peaceful, more prosperous and more just world.

In an increasingly globalised world where the prosperity of each country is profoundly conditioned by the global economy, where local crises have worldwide repercussions, where information is instantaneous and widely accessible, we all feel the need to find ways of improving governability worldwide.

As States are still the basic units of international politics, multilateral diplomacy, one of the great political innovations of the 20th century, remains the principal instrument to combine wills and settle conflicts on the international plane. Multilateralism is a method of conducting international politics according to co-operative and, as it were, democratic rules. Just as procedural rules are the essence of democracy on the home front, so multilateralism must be the privileged method of conducting international affairs.

It is not a question of conditioning any decision to a universal consensus. This would in many cases lead to paralysis. But sufficiently broad platforms of understanding must be found so that the decisions made have sufficient legitimacy, are able to mobilise the main agents of the international system and are effectively applied.

I believe that, on this front, the objectives that should unite us are, on the one hand, the promotion of the values of peace, democracy, respect for human rights and international solidarity and, on the other, facing up to the threats to collective security that confront us, all clearly set out in the recent report on the reform of the United Nations.

The issues of collective security that have dominated the international agenda since September 11 must not, however, relegate the problem of economic and social development to second place. I believe the time has come once again to place the fight against poverty and disease at the forefront of the international agenda. It is both a moral imperative and a long-term political interest.

In line with the previously accepted timetable, the progress made to achieve the objectives of the millennium will be evaluated in 2005. The international community must mobilise itself to achieve these targets of key importance for the well-being of mankind.

I believe also that the time has come to examine without prejudice whether the financing of international public goods should continue to depend only on the generosity of States. The proposals made in the declaration on the fight against hunger - a Brasilian initiative -that international money transactions should be taxed, must continue to be discussed and improved.

In order to promote a more balanced development process worldwide, it is also vital to conclude the Doha negotiations, which give priority to decisive issues for developing countries such as the liberalisation of international agricultural markets. Trade liberalization as agreed to within the WTO, is a fundamental means to promote global economical development.

To carry out this ambitious agenda on the international scene major efforts will have to be made. An enduring increase in the conditions of international governability requires at this start of the 21st century the strengthening of the current regional and global institutional frameworks.

The ideals of democracy, respect for human rights and for the rule of law continue to be the most mobilising ideals at world level. We see that democracy, which only thirty years ago was limited to certain geographic areas and a minor number of countries, has continuously expanded, and now reaches much vaster areas and states of different cultural traditions. There are now at least sixty countries present in all continents, that have solid democratic practices and many more which are moving in that direction – hopefully in an irreversible manner.

In this context, the natural ties of solidarity between democracies must be enhanced so that together they may serve as a driving force for a renewed and effective multilateralism and, as well, the benchmark and example for all the countries – and they are in a majority – that wish to accede to or consolidate this system of government.

Although this is a domain of shared responsibility for all the members of the international community, the co-operation of the United States of America and of the European Union is essential for this agenda of progress and justice to be achieved.

Reverend Nuncio,
Ambassadors,

A final word about Portugal. Faithful to our humanist and universalist tradition we will give our committed contribution to help make 2005 a year of peace and progress. Globalisation does not cancel out the national interest but forces us to consider it from a broader viewpoint. Whether within the scope of the European Union or bilaterally, we will always be available, through dialogue, to find solutions which, whilst serving our own interests, also serve the collective interest. We wish to consolidate our ties of friendship with all the countries that share our values or the political will for loyal cooperation. We attach particular importance to our relation with those with which we are close, geographically, historically and culturally, such as the Portuguese-speaking countries, our partners in the European Union and our allies. We want to contribute to help the European Union continue as an open space of solidarity. We want to contribute to a fruitful dialogue between the West and Islam. Insofar as we are able we will continue committed to the fight against poverty and disease, in particular HIV-AIDS, TB and malaria. We will also continue to pay particular attention to Africa, where all these issues take on huge and urgent proportions.

Before ending I wish to recall here with great pleasure the State visits I had the opportunity to make during 2004 to Norway, Cape Verde, Luxembourg and Italy, as well as others that took place in other frameworks: to Spain, on several occasions, to Poland, France, Greece, São Tomé & Principe, and the Vatican. I would like to address a friendly word to the Heads of State I was honoured to welcome to Lisbon during this last year: the Presidents of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Latvia, Mozambique, Malta, Austria, the Russian Federation and Bulgaria. I also recall here the visits of the Crown Prince of Japan and of the Vice-President of Brazil. All of these fulfilled the objectives of strengthening relationships, enlarge agreements and deepen friendships,
I am grateful for your presence here today and wish you all a Happy New Year.
Thank you