The Prime Minister stated today that Portugal is “highly competitive” from an energy point of view, with one of the “lowest costs in the European Union,” and expressed confidence that it will grow above the community average again in 2026. At the opening session of the first edition of the “Portugal, Global Nation” forum, taking place at the Belém Cultural Center (Lisbon), Luís Montenegro sought to present reasons for the diaspora entrepreneurs present to invest in Portugal.
“At this moment, we are already a country in Europe that presents the lowest energy costs. I must highlight this point because, a few years ago, this was a factor against our competitiveness. Portugal is now highly competitive from an energy point of view,” he stressed. According to the Prime Minister, strategic autonomy in the energy sector “is not just a factor of greater sovereignty and autonomy, but a factor of competitiveness.”
“The less dependent we are and the more competitive we are in energy pricing, the more fertile ground we have to attract and secure new investments,” he said. Another factor pointed out by Montenegro to attract investors to Portugal was the “business-friendly fiscal policy” of the current Government which, he guaranteed, “is here to stay.”
“Because, despite the normal democratic political struggle, I believe that no one will dare, in the coming years, to call into question the fiscal strategy that makes Portugal a country that collects less tax on labor income and, therefore, is more attractive for human capital, and also collects less tax on business activity and, therefore, is more attractive for securing investments,” he said.
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Highlighting the soundness of national public finances, Montenegro pointed out that Portugal is heading “for the fifth consecutive year of economic performance that exceeds the European Union average.” “If everything goes as planned, in 2026, despite all the uncertainties and adversities, it will be another year where Portugal will grow more than the European Union average,” he predicted.
The Portugal Global Nation Forum, an initiative that intends to establish connections between Portugal, the diaspora, and international markets, expects to gather more than 600 participants, including companies and institutions, from over 40 countries between today and Thursday in Lisbon. Montenegro highlighted, on the other hand, the “clear bet” of the PSD/CDS-PP executive he leads on “debureaucratization and simplification of procedures.”
“I would like you to leave here very aware that we are making a great effort to make the administration’s response to people’s requests, but also to companies’ requests, more agile,” he stated. The Prime Minister also stressed that there are currently mechanisms that allow overcoming financing difficulties that have affected Portuguese companies in the past or the companies of Portuguese people who want to invest in Portugal.
“What we want is for Portuguese companies, and companies that want to invest in Portugal, to have a partner in the financial system, to have a partner in the Portuguese Development Bank, so they are not left behind due to difficulties in accessing credit, namely,” he stressed.
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The Prime Minister said he hopes that new projects and concrete investments will come out of this forum and asked the businessmen present to be ambassadors not only of national culture and traditions abroad but also of the “entrepreneurial will and capacity for transformation” of Portuguese projects.
“I hope that the list of contacts you will exchange here, of projects and experiences, is inspiring and is a little bit more than that: that it is the seed for projects that will then germinate into good investments and into greater growth for Portugal and greater growth for our community and its prosperity spread all over the world,” he wished.
