SPAIN’S INCREASING regional potential is opening up new doors in terms of investment for Portugal.
The Iberian Peninsula is no longer being seen as a single entity or market but rather a collection of semi-autonomous regional markets within the framework of a larger Iberian entity.
One such region within Spain is Portugal’s Alentejo neighbour Extremadura, which on Thursday signed an agreement for the opening of an Extremadura Trade Delegation in Lisbon.
The President of the Extremadura Regional Council, Junta da Extremadura, was in Lisbon to sign the agreement with Basílio Horta, President of AICEP Portugal Global – a government Portuguese trade and business promotional organisation.
“The importance of commercial relations between Portugal and Extremadura have been, is and will be incredibly important since Portugal is our principal client,” said Guillermo Fernández Vara, President of the Regional Council.
“Equally, 3.8 per cent of Portuguese exports to Spain go directly to Extremadura,” he said. “Despite the economic crisis which is affecting both our countries, around a third of our exports go directly to our Portuguese neighbours,” he added, saying that as a direct result of the crisis, many regions were opting to do business with close neighbours as a way of cutting down transport and exportation costs.
He also said that Portugal was a continuation of Extremadura’s natural market while the region would mark a constant presence at Portuguese regional and national trade fairs from 2009.
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