The Resolution of the Council of Ministers (RCM) No. 104/2025, published today in the Diário da República, relieves Ricardo Arroja from his position as president of the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP), a post he assumed just over a year ago, and appoints Madalena Oliveira e Silva to the role.
“My dismissal as CEO of the Board of Directors of AICEP E.P.E.,” mandated through the RCM, “which consequently also leads to my departure from the non-executive (and unpaid) role in the Board of Directors of AICEP Global Parques, S.A., constitutes a legitimate outcome by the new Minister of Economy, although I believe it to be mistaken given the work accomplished,” he states in a communiqué.
“In addition to multiple internal capacity-building initiatives and opening AICEP E.P.E. to the outside world—civil society, businesses, associations, and other public entities—the Board of Directors, under my leadership, maintained a consistently intense administrative and commercial activity,” the executive highlights.
In an organization employing nearly 500 people across various locations in Portugal and abroad, the AICEP Board of Directors “was well-constituted, including individuals with different profiles and well-identified functional roles,” he points out.
“For my part, over the last year, I have been involved in multiple initiatives, exceeding 300 actions, ranging from board meetings, general assemblies, external meetings with companies and various entities, governmental meetings, foreign ambassador interactions, events, and institutional visits—including about 60 public interventions, 15 international missions, and five interviews representing AICEP,” enumerates Ricardo Arroja.
The manager recounted that last Wednesday, June 18, “following recent government structural changes,” he was summoned for a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida.
“In the meeting, held on Friday, June 20, 2025, attended by the Secretary of State for the Economy (Engineer João Rui Ferreira), the Minister expressed his desire for a different profile at the helm of AICEP,” he continues.
“After personal and family reflection, I concluded that I could not bear the burden of this desire, especially having led a Board of Directors that operated collegially and consensually, aligned with its strategic plan and the Government’s plan,” he emphasizes.
Essentially, “a management team that,” he outlines, “delivered positive results in investment matters, as publicly commended by the Government on several occasions, including by the Prime Minister; inaugurated the Portuguese National Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025 within the planned schedule and terms; and triggered significant internal reforms for the organization’s role in allocating European aid for business internationalization.”
Ricardo Arroja recalls having had “the opportunity to warn” in an interview with ECO — Economia Online in November last year that “‘it’s necessary for public tenders to come equipped with all the tools for analyzing respective applications’.”
Unfortunately, this does not always occur. It’s crucial for politicians to realize this, not just our direct oversight but also the oversight responsible for AD&C,” he stated in the interview, which he cites in the communiqué.
“This criticism remains valid today, in a year with strong political pressure to streamline aid, yet practically, in the absence of work tools, higher levels of service are unfeasible,” he points out.
“The oversight of European funds was, and is, under the Ministry of Cohesion, a portfolio the Minister Castro Almeida previously held and now combines with the Economy,” he observes.
At this juncture, “I must accept the situation and wish well to all the teams within the AICEP universe that so warmly welcomed me, to the various ministerial offices and public sector colleagues I collaborated with, and to the private sector entities I interacted with.”
“It is now up to my fellow board members at AICEP, who all remain in their roles, and whom I respect professionally, to continue along the path we started together and whose success I wish for. And, finally, may my removal from office, by the will of the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, serve as a new alert to the poor working conditions prevailing within the European funds management system and as a prompt for the resolution of the operational constraints therein, as those responsible, outside AICEP, should address,” he concludes.
[Updated at 5:33 PM]
