Healthcare || Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is determined to resume and strengthen Portugal’s economic relationship with Japan.
“We were one of Europe’s first economies to establish partnerships with Japanese companies, but it is true that in the last years we have focused more on European markets.
However, now is the time to resume (the relationship),” Passos Coelho told journalists as he exited Kyoto University on the first day (March 26) of his three-day trip to Japan.
The PM highlighted the “economic opportunities” that were created after Japan was named an associated member of the CPLP, the community of Portuguese speaking countries, in July last year.
As Jornal de Negócios pointed out, the two countries are expected to cooperate in the senior healthcare sector, as both Portugal and Japan have ageing populations.
At Kyoto University, the PM was shown some of the robotic creations unveiled by Japanese researchers to assist elderly patients.
Algarve University rector António Branco, who has accompanied the PM on his trip, was expected to sign two cooperation agreements with the Kinki and Hokkaido universities in Japan.
The ministers of economy, environment, foreign affairs as well as the president of AICEP, Portugal’s global trade and investment agency, Miguel Frasquilho, also accompanied the PM on this trip.
