Portugal is opening its doors to Qataris as a second home for investment and tourism purposes, ambassador Antonio Tanger Correa has said.
“Qataris have one more country whom they can rely. Portugal is a safe country,” the envoy told reporters at the Portuguese Gastronomic Week reception on Monday.
Correa cited Qatar and Portugal’s strong diplomatic relations, which have been continuously developing in the past years.
“Portugal is a good country for investment and we welcome all Qataris,” he stressed.
The envoy also cited the two countries’ cultural co-operation with the staging of several shows and endeavour in Doha, including Portugal’s participation in the annual European Jazz Festival and the Portuguese Language Day next month.
The Portuguese embassy, together with the Brazilian embassy, will also bring to Doha and screen some movies soon for residents and visitors to enjoy, according to Correa.
He added that the Portuguese language lesson at Qatar University, which started two years ago, is doing well and exceeded their expectations.
“It is a multi-ethnic interest, we have those people of India, former Portuguese territories, Qataris, people from this region, from Lebanon, Iraq, and who want to learn Portuguese,” the envoy said.
About Portuguese culture, he pointed out that it is one of the oldest in the world – a result of a melting of many cultures in the world.
“From the Far East, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Brazil, among others, we built our own culture based on the melting of those cultures,” Correa said. “Our culture has been built for 900 years.”
“That is why foreigners are very well received in Portugal because we understand that when we were great explorers we received from them more than what we gave them,” he explained.
The envoy pointed out that Portugal also introduced cuisine in many countries such as Japan (the tempura) and other dishes, as well as Thailand’s desserts, which also came from the Portuguese cuisine.
About introducing Portugal’s products in the country, he said some are now entering the Qatar market slowly such as chocolates, which are available at a store at The Pearl-Qatar.
