New Delhi: India’s effort to revamp diplomatic relations with Portugal has received kudos from the Indian Press.

Commenting on the new rapport with Lisbon, The observer for Business and Politic said,” The visit of President Mario Soares to India, the first ever by a Portuguese head of state has been a success that is possible only when there ‘are no outstanding points of friction between two nations, and a ‘genuine willingness to work together, both for manual benefit and for an increased role in international affairs.” The paper continues that ‘despite the long relationship between the two countries, the record of bilateral trade had been dismal. Trade remained ‘stagnant at Rs 30-40 crore in 1974 and went up to Rs 74 crore in 1990-91 only after a business mission to that country had identified new trade opportunities.

The Observer hopes that these areas will be enlarged further. The paper also felt that greater cooperation is very feasible in such areas as textiles and footwear, areas where Portuguese innovation could marry with Indian manufacturing capacity.

According to the Hindustan Times while commenting on Indo Portuguese relations, has attached great importance to the visit of that country’s president. It says “Portugal, which became a member of the EC in 1986, is the current president of the EC. In this capacity, Dr. Soares has spoken with ambassadors from other EC counties who have endorsed India’s stand against terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir.”

The paper says that both of these countries can learn from each other in the political front. Both are young democracies and enjoy multi-party democracy. Dr. Soares, who is serving a second term, in the post belongs to the.

Socialist Panty (PS) However, the ruling socialist Democratic Party (PSD) supported him as a candidate last January but in the parliamentary elections held later in October, the two parties fought, The PSD won an absolute majority for the second time with the PS being a distant second. Presently, they co-exist.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 7, 1992