Foreign minister sees ‘great alignment’ with UK
"There is great alignment between the two oldest allies in the world in terms of defence," Paulo Rangel said after meeting with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel has highlighted the “great alignment” between Portugal and the United Kingdom, which he considered “very promising”, after a meeting with his British counterpart in Lisbon.
“There is great alignment between the two oldest allies in the world in terms of defence,” the head of Portuguese diplomacy told Lusa at the end of a working meeting and lunch with the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, at the Palácio das Necessidades in Lisbon.
“There was a communion of views here, an alignment, which I think is very promising,” commented Rangel, who added that he had “direct contact” with Minister Lammy, to exchange “views on a wide variety of issues and in particular in preparation for meetings at prime minister level”.
The meeting discussed the bilateral relationship with the European Union (EU) and the current international context, namely the war in Ukraine.
“The alignment of Portugal and the United Kingdom at this challenging juncture is clear and promising,” wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the social network X, in a publication accompanied by photographs of the two ministers.
Paulo Rangel also pointed out that the relationship between London and the European Union “is in a clearly different and positive phase” – the United Kingdom left the then 28-nation bloc in January 2020, following a referendum, in the process known as “Brexit”.
“There has been a very noticeable rapprochement between the two parties, which Portugal has encouraged and which it supports very clearly,” he emphasised.
The minister discussed the EU’s plans to invest in the defence sector and “how the UK can interact in this context”.
The war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia’s invasion in February 2022, was highlighted in the conversation between the two ministers, namely on “how the two countries have been cooperating closely in this area”.
Paulo Rangel recalled that Portugal has participated at various levels, namely with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro present, in meetings of the so-called “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine, which has been promoted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Rangel recalled that last week, Portugal approved a contribution of €205 million for this year, which was already part of the previous commitments.
The meeting also discussed NATO (the transatlantic alliance) and plans for medium-term defence investment, at a time when the Atlantic Alliance is advocating that member states exceed the contribution of 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that countries that have not yet reached this target – like Portugal – anticipate this goal as soon as possible.
Regarding the relationship with the new US administration, led by Republican Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, the minister stressed that Portugal and the United Kingdom “consider the transatlantic relationship to be fundamental for the security and defence of both their respective countries, the world and stability in the world”.
“It’s very important that, even though there are some differences from our point of view and even though today we’re in a different context, a great effort is made to maintain as active a relationship as possible with the United States of America and with the new US administration,” Paulo Rangel added.