“We have been increasing this investment, but I really acknowledge that it is difficult (…), we have to invest on various fronts,” said Luís Montenegro to journalists in Seville, where he participated in the first day of the IV International Conference on Financing for Development (FiD4) organized by the United Nations (UN).
The Prime Minister stated that “resources must be well distributed to achieve the same purpose” and argued that, for example, the planned increase in defense and security spending, agreed within NATO last week, is an investment for “more peace” and more developed democracies.
“Therefore, all this is interconnected, even when we invest in defense, we are investing in people’s freedom,” ensuring that democracies survive and develop and that all people “can have dignity,” he emphasized.
“It’s not just the check or the value of the check that is important,” said the Prime Minister, regarding the funds for public development aid, which in the case of Portugal, like the majority of the international community, fall short of the 0.7% of Gross National Income agreed within the UN framework.
The Prime Minister insisted that Portugal could increase development aid funds “whenever the country’s financial situation allows,” but repeatedly emphasized that the national “contribution” goes beyond financing.
In this context, he highlighted the role of national diplomacy and the “magisterium of Portuguese influence” in bringing development and poverty combat issues to the tables of debate and negotiation in multilateral forums, such as the European Union or the UN, but also the development of initiatives considered innovative that have served as an example to other countries.
One of those initiatives he mentioned is the agreement to convert debt into “environmentally friendly investment” that Portugal has already implemented with Cape Verde and is about to develop with São Tomé and Príncipe.
Regarding Portuguese diplomacy, Luís Montenegro highlighted and cited Portugal’s role in preparing the conference that started today in Seville and was referenced during the meeting’s opening.
Portugal co-chaired with Burundi the committee at the UN that prepared the conference, in which an agreement, the “Seville Commitment,” was closed and signed by 192 of the 193 United Nations countries, formally adopted today in the Spanish city.
The document represents an international community commitment for the next decade regarding international cooperation and financing and development, which the UN estimates currently has a four trillion dollar annual deficit.
Luís Montenegro assured the government’s commitment to leveraging “more agile financing mechanisms for the current times and challenges,” aiming for an even more efficient development cooperation policy.
The Prime Minister highlighted that Portugal has a commitment not only to countries with Portuguese as their official language but also to other developing states and regions worldwide within the European Union framework.
“We have been in various geographies with various peoples, fulfilling a responsibility, a universal purpose from which we do not exclude ourselves,” he stated.
Earlier, during a plenary session at the Seville meeting, Montenegro remarked that “Seville is not just another international conference” and that it is essential to “renew the ambition” of the UN’s 2030 Agenda, with sustainable development goals assumed by the international community, “or accept a regression.”
Portugal opts to “eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all,” said the Prime Minister, advocating for “an international financial architecture that ensures resources reach where they are most needed” and “with rules adapted to the most vulnerable.”
“The cooperation policy in Portugal is a state policy focused on the partner countries’ priorities,” he assured, adding that for the Portuguese government, “the answer lies in multilateralism.”
Luís Montenegro was one of 60 heads of state and government present today at the opening of the Seville conference, and on Sunday night, he was a guest of the Kings of Spain for a dinner offered in honor of the UN meeting at the city’s royal palace.
