At a press conference held at the official residence of the President of the Regional Government of the Azores following a meeting with the President of the Republic, José Manuel Bolieiro expressed satisfaction and gratitude that the President of the Republic accepted his invitation for the current visit, emphasizing that this “will not be the last.”
When asked about further details of the visit, Bolieiro highlighted Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s “very creative and dynamic” schedule, which makes it challenging to specify a date. He stated his desire for the visit to take place “as soon as possible and naturally within the framework of his mandate.”
Reflecting on the President of the Republic’s visit to the Azores, which concludes this Sunday, Bolieiro explained that the aim was to convey to Marcelo a “significant message” about his “perspective on autonomous governance and the national and community understanding of the Azores’ value.”
The leader of the Azorean regional government stressed the importance of “ensuring a solidary commitment from the country and the European Union” to the Azores to address their remote location through “support for development, prosperity, and social and territorial cohesion.”
Bolieiro argued that the Azores “are no longer merely a region of needs, but also a region of opportunities” that “need to be understood by the country and the EU.”
The president of the regional government also praised Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s “special sensitivity” regarding the “shared co-management of the sea and space,” adding that he does not forgo these areas.
“We are not, as is often said, a riverside people. We are a maritime people. Therefore, it is fair that in environmental and economic domains, we should have the right to co-management and shared management of these new areas of the economy and future economies. Thus, I also want to foster this European, national, political, and jurisdictional sensitivity. I have also been working towards this,” he stated.
