The following is a brief lecture presented by Ambassador Pedro Catarino, the current Representative of the Republic for the National Government of Portugal in the Azores, at a conference in Praia da Vitória, organized and sponsored by FLAD as part of its 40th anniversary program.

Mr. President of FLAD, Dr. Nuno Morais Sarmento,

Thank you very much for the kind invitation to participate in this International Conference dedicated to the Azores: From the Ocean to Space, part of the celebrations of FLAD’s 40th anniversary and marking the 30th anniversary of the Cooperation and Defense Agreement between Portugal and the US.

Allow me to congratulate you and FLAD on this anniversary and on the excellent work you have been doing, as well as on this very timely initiative and the fact that it is taking place in the Azores.

The Azores are an important link between Portugal and the US, perhaps the most important, given the role that the region has historically played and its contribution to the defense of the common interests of both countries. This is in addition to the important Azorean diaspora in the US and its highly relevant role.

With its strategic position in the middle of the North Atlantic, halfway between the US and Europe, the Lajes Base enabled effective action in World War II in the anti-submarine war, which neutralized the highly destructive attacks on transatlantic shipping and contributed decisively to the Allied victory.

It was the Azores, together with mainland Portugal and Madeira, and their reciprocal positioning in a strategic triangle at the gateway to Europe and the Mediterranean, dominating an extensive area of the North Atlantic, that justified Portugal’s founding membership of the Atlantic Alliance. Considered an indispensable country for ensuring the connection and security of maritime and air communication routes and, later, digital communications secured by submarine cables between North America and Europe, with the Azores also constituting a valuable logistical support point.

It was the Azores and the value that Lajes Air Base represents for US interests that were at the heart of the creation of FLAD, the idea for which was born during the 1985 negotiations for the renewal of the existing concession.

However, it was due to the desire of both countries, in a broader context, to maintain a strong and healthy mutual relationship and to strengthen the political, economic, cultural, and social ties that bind our two nations that FLAD was established. It is in this spirit and within this framework that it has operated for the past 40 years.

Both countries, Portugal and the US, recognize the importance of bilateral ties and common interests, which have been the raison d’être of a solid and lasting relationship that has been maintained since the independence of the US and which led Portugal to be the third country to recognize it, on February 15, 1783, after France and the Netherlands and before England, our old ally.

Allow me to mention the very strong personal relationship between Abbot Correia da Serra and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, one of the signatories and drafters of the Declaration of Independence, considered one of the founding fathers of the American nation.

Abbot Correia da Serra, for whom Jefferson had great friendship and admiration, was a frequent guest at Jefferson’s residence in Monticello.

Allow me to mention that the US Consulate in Ponta Delgada, now well represented by the distinguished diplomat Dr. Rita Rico, was one of the first consulates, if not the first, to be established abroad, and has remained so to this day. I hope it will continue to do so for many years to come.

More recently, in the long relationship between the US and Portugal, there have been many occasions when we have supported each other.

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, we supported the airlift to the Middle East at a dramatic and critical juncture when other US allies refused to do so.

Later, during the Gulf Wars, the Azores once again played a very important role.

Allow me to share my personal testimony with you.

I was Ambassador to the United Nations from 1992 to 1996 and in Washington from 2002 to 2006.

Mutual support between the two countries has always been a constant in our foreign policy, as demonstrated in United Nations votes and in active support whenever there was uncertainty about the election of the US to bodies where we believed American participation was essential for the interests of peace and the effective functioning of the organization. I recall just two cases, that of the UN Human Rights Council and the UNESCO Executive Board, in which Portugal was key to the election of the US.

On the other hand, the support of the US, with its weight and influence, was decisive in the election of Professor Freitas do Amaral as President of the 50th UNGA.

I remember a lunch at my official residence in New York with Mrs. Madeleine Albright and Professor Freitas do Amaral, at the end of which she took me aside to say, “we have the man.”

Similarly, US support for António Guterres’ candidacy for the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which later paved the way for his election as UN Secretary-General, was decisive.

I was an Ambassador in Washington at the time, and Guterres’ competitors included some heavyweights in world politics. It was a complex and difficult process, but it ended with a US decision in favor of Guterres.

Naturally, the candidate’s qualities and reputation were important factors. Still, so were Prime Minister Durão Barroso’s good relationship with President George W. Bush, the excellent relations we enjoy with the Americans, the support we gave them in the case of the UNESCO Executive Board, and, I must add, the high quality of our diplomacy.

Currently, with the deterioration of the international situation, the uncertainties and threats we face, the Azores, as was clearly evident in the judicious interventions to be close at this Conference, have gained increased relevance and geostrategic value.

It is absolutely essential that the North Atlantic remains a zone of peace and that its security cannot be called into question.

Unfortunately, there are many uncertainties, and they do not lend themselves to passivity on our part or on the part of our allies, or to erratic policies that can only fragment and weaken our collective strength.

The EU, of which we are a member and which was the top priority of our foreign policy, with an impact on virtually all aspects of our country’s governance, is facing new challenges, I would even say an existential test of its ability to defend itself, guarantee its own security, and preserve its unity of action.

And despite the efforts made by European countries to overcome their current shortcomings and provide effective aid to Ukraine, the US remains an indispensable partner in NATO, which continues to guarantee military superiority, the main obstacle to Russia’s expansionist ambitions.

The challenges facing the EU are enormous and the responses hesitant and slow, reflecting a decision-making process typical of democratic regimes, which is always slower than in autocratic regimes, and the diversity of the 27 member countries.

We need to act quickly and decisively, based on strong leadership and unity of purpose that can generate complementary efforts and decisive action.

We need to speak with one voice and strengthen our mutual cooperation, possibly within the framework of pragmatic federalism as suggested by Mario Draghi.

We need to maintain our cohesion and the invigorating spirit of our societies, countering attempts, from outside or within, to destabilize our institutions and our collective will.

We must exponentially increase the EU’s military power, its economic security, and its political weight.

These are complementary areas that reinforce each other. And they are within our reach if there is political will.

As I have already mentioned, the Azores, with their geographical location, have a role to play that is gaining prominence and relevance in the current context.

We Portuguese ourselves must make efforts to strengthen military resources and equipment in the region, which needs modern and adequate infrastructure and qualified human resources more than ever so that we can fulfill our responsibilities.

Civilian capabilities must also be enhanced and valued, particularly in the field of space, which has quite rightly been the focus of this conference, but also in the field of environmental protection and the impact of climate change on the ocean ecosystem, and in the field of scientific research and collaboration with countries bordering the North and South Atlantic.

Reflections such as those at this conference are more than useful, they are necessary, and FLAD’s example should encourage similar initiatives by other civil society institutions.

However, the main initiative must come from the Government of the Republic responsible for defense and foreign affairs.

It is necessary that, together with the military command and in effective consultation with the Autonomous Regions, a strategy and action plan be drawn up, setting out priorities for the measures that need to be taken to strengthen the armed forces in the Region. I cite as examples air defense, the radar system, ammunition depots, and facilities for the maintenance and repair of aircraft, all of which are interconnected and highly technical problems.

It is also important to promote diplomatic efforts to discuss with NATO and our EU partners what we should and can do to combine our efforts and enhance and leverage military and civilian capabilities in the Azores for the collective benefit.

In this context, I welcome the initiative of the Danish Presidency of the European Council to promote a working visit to the region by EU ambassadors accredited in Lisbon, which took place on the 15th and 16th of this month.

This visit follows another one in April 2023 on the initiative of the Swedish Presidency.

These visits are a reflection of our partners’ interest in the challenges and opportunities of the Azores.

We are in the same boat, and we need to combine our efforts to strengthen our capabilities, our collective defense, and secure our future.

Time is pressing, and it is time to act.

Thank you once again to FLAD and its President for this initiative.

Thank you also to all the participants for their contributions and their points of view.

A special word to my distinguished colleagues and dear friends, Ambassador Ana Paula Zacarias, Director of the Diplomatic Institute, and Ambassador Paulo Viseu Pinheiro, Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels.

Finally, a special greeting to the President of the Regional Government, Dr. José Manuel Bolieiro.

Thank you all very much.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço, director, and Armando Mendes (PhD), editor-in-chief.

Lecture given at the closing session of the International Conference of Lajes – Azores: from the Ocean to Space (September 18 and 19, 2025)