Portugal’s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel Visit to India
Visits
4 min read
Portugal’s Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, was on a four-day visit to India from 12-15 December 2024. This was Paulo Rangel's first visit to India.
During his visit to India, he visited New Delhi and Goa. During his visit to New Delhi, he held an official discussion with the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and the External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar.
During his visit to Goa, he met the Goa Governor P.S.Sreedharan Pillai and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Goa was a colony of Portugal, which was liberated after the Indian Army launched Operation Vijay in 1961.
Paulo Rangel’s meeting with Dr S Jaishankar
The meeting between External Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar and Paulo Rangel was held in New Delhi on 13th December 2024. They discussed matters related to bilateral trade and investment, defence, science and technology, tourism, culture, and people-to-people ties.
They also discussed regional and global issues.
Dr Jaishankar expressed India’s thanks to Portugal for supporting the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
Russia, China, France, The United Kingdom and the United States are the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Both the ministers also agreed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2025.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1949 but were broken in 1961 after the liberation of Goa. It was again re-established in 1974.
India Portugal Relation
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was the first European to discover a direct sea route to India when his ship landed in Calicut (present-day Kozhikode), Kerala, in May 1498.
At the time of Indian independence, Goa, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli were a colony of Portugal.
The Portuguese government, led by dictator Antonio Salazar, refused to hand over Goa to India.
Indian Army launched Operation Vijay in 1961 to liberate Goa.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were re-established in 1974 after the fall of the Salazar government.
About Portugal
Portugal is located in the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe.
After the overthrow of King Manuel II in 1910, Portugal became a Republic.
Portugal is a member of the European Union and the common monetary union eurozone.
Capital: Lisbon
Currency: euro
President: Luís Montenegro
