Conference - The Enlargement of BRICS to Islamic Countries

Excellencies, Ambassadors of Egypt, Iran, Russia and South Africa,

Representatives of Foreign Embassies in Portugal,

Dear Colleagues and Participants,

Many thanks to ISCSP-ULisboa / Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas - Universidade de Lisboa and Observatório do Mundo Islâmico - OMI / IWO for the invitation to join you this afternoon.

You may know that the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce & Industry - CCILC is dedicated to promoting and incentivizing trade and economic relations between our two countries. Although we collaborate with the Governments and agencies of both countries, our main interest is to defend our members, which are private companies that create jobs, pay taxes and contribute to the prosperity and social stability of our countries.

We have been doing so since 1978, before the two countries established diplomatic ties, and since then the Chamber has acquired public utility, besides having a very dynamic Delegation in Macau since 1992.

The point being that economic relations between Portugal and China came about before formal diplomatic relations. This is relevant for today’s seminar because it is also very common that economic needs precede political interests. And we believe that there are many economic and trade opportunities for our corporate members to benefit from BRICS + economies and business dynamics. Should we, the business community, be smart enough to position ourselves for such economic opportunities, politics will follow suit by providing stable and healthy state-to-state relations. Or so I would like to believe.

Nevertheless, the world is currently full of commotion, and mankind is facing multiple challenges. Look at Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, the Red Sea, and China-US relations. Protectionism hit the world economy, while unilateralism and power politics have hit the international system and order.

The world now needs, more than ever, responsible politicians and international stability, in order to move country-to-country relations along the track of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. It sounds easy to achieve when said, but in fact, injecting new energy towards revitalizing multilateralism has become a serious challenge in the face of poor leadership. Never before in history did we need more the likes of Nelson Mandela or John F. Kennedy to guide us through the current storms.

As major forces, markets and civilizations in the world, the EU and China should closely follow their international responsibilities. A more stable and closer EU-China relationship will not only benefit each other, but also have the potential to light up the world. The same applies to the EU-BRICS + relationship. We should eliminate geopolitical and ideological interference, stick to the position of partnership, and inject positive energy to overcome difficulties and create new opportunities for economic growth and social prosperity. All it takes to get us into the right track is to put the interest of the people first.

The purpose and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) have never been as important as today. There are too many challenges ahead, from environmental pollution to artificial intelligence. There is also no international order except the order of the strongest. The UN reform is necessary to improve the global governance architecture. All challenges can be overcome if the international decision-making process is accepted by all, thus becoming efficient.

From the Belt and Road Initiative to the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, China has committed to the principles of cooperation, openness and equality, as well as tackling global challenges in partnership with the rest of the world. As a China expert, I can tell you that China will not bet against the other world powers, and has no intention to challenge them for a change of seat in the international scene. China seeks win-win outcomes, and to work together to inject more certainty into the world and create a better future for everyone and all countries.

"Decoupling" is plain wrong, and will drive us all to misery. I believe that more and more people today, with insight and critical thinking, have realized that non-cooperation is the biggest risk to our world. Portugal should work together – with the BRICS + and everyone else – to make globalization more successful, so that more countries and more people will benefit from it. And, of course, CCILC members will also benefit from such a positive mindset and state-to-state relations. Until that day arrives and even if we still lack power to influence, we should work together and consistently, despite any headwinds, to address global challenges in a constructive manner, add value to staff and shareholders, while showing the benefits of growing stable economies for the realization of each participant and every person. It might take time but the course is righteous and peaceful.

The effort of one person is an addition, but the effort of a team is exponential – the same goes for state-to-state relations! We must work together, prioritize face-to-face dialogue and compromise to serve the interest of people, seek win-win outcomes, and inject more certainty into the world to create a better future for every person.