"There is today a real action between the State of Ceará and Fortaleza (Brazil), and Sines" and "there are already a number of initiatives to promote economic activity" between the two territories, said Armando Abreu at the closing of the third edition of "Portugal Negócios & Investimentos", dedicated to the presentation of the Alentejo Region, which took place on 27 January in a virtual form.

"But the Alentejo is not only Sines," and "there is a whole other Alentejo that we have to enhance, whether in agribusiness or tourism," he added.

Portugal - Business & Investments" is a project of the Federation of Portuguese Chambers of Commerce in Brazil (FCPCB), which is supported by the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP) and includes a cycle of online events, running since 2021, which in its third edition was attended by the Portuguese ambassador in Brasilia, Luis Faro Ramos.

The Portuguese ambassador, who showed total availability of the embassy for the "facilitation" of contacts and business between the two countries was, in fact, the first to emphasise in his speech that the "Alentejo is not just Sines".

"I see agribusiness and tourism as the two main sectors capable of creating a very strong exchange" between Brazilian and Portuguese businesspeople, Armando Abreu later added.

At the end of the webinar, speaking to Lusa by telephone, the president of the FCPCB went further, and stressed that Sines "also ends up being a little fashionable in the Alentejo, like Alqueva itself".

However, in his opinion, it is in the agribusiness and tourism of the Alentejo that there are several opportunities to attract investment from Brazilian businesspeople with experience in the two sectors, some who already live in Portugal and others who remain in Brazil, he admitted.

Recalling that "due to the economic and political situation Brazil is experiencing there are many Brazilians interested in investing outside" their country and when they decide to do so "it is obvious that the first factor of agglutination is the language", he stressed.

Therefore, he said, "I think there is a great opportunity, provided business opportunities are properly presented to some Brazilian businesspeople, to bring investment to Portugal," in the area of agribusiness.

"In the same way, and even boosted by these two years of Covid-19, by a desire of people to have access to a calmer tourism more mixed with nature and with the amount of investors in tourism terms that exist in Brazil, I also see an excellent opportunity for Brazilian entrepreneurs to invest in tourism in the Alentejo region", he added.

The debate also included the participation of Daniel Janeiro, Coordinator of the External Relations Department of ADRAL - Alentejo Regional Development Agency, Luís Miguel Silva - Systems Advisor, Planning and Communication of the Sines and Algarve Ports Administration, Rui Pereira - Head of Office Support to the Presidency and Town Council of the Municipality of Sines.

The two previous editions, which took place in 2021, were dedicated to the presentation of the Aveiro and Madeira Regions.