Portugal strengthens commitment within NATO

The Minister of National Defence, Helena Carreiras, claimed that in the current global security framework and with the war in Ukraine, Portugal’s role in NATO will tend to be strengthened.

"Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed the need to be more adaptable in this area", Helena Carreiras said at the Coimbra University Faculty of Economics during the closing session of the presentation by the Social Studies Centre of the outcomes of the project "Portugal’s participation in international missions: the contribution of national defence policy to reaching national interests and producing international security".

The Minister also said that given a "new international security environment, our commitment within NATO will be particularly relevant in the short and medium term".

Helena Carreiras recalled that at the last NATO summit in Madrid, a "new strategic concept" was approved "that did not overlook the importance of the threats from the south and reinforced the 360º approach to security" and that the meeting was also "to readdress the level of preparedness we offer the alliance in the event of a threat in the East". 

"Portugal recently reinforced its presence in the Eastern flank by bringing forward the deployment of 222 soldiers to Romania", she said.

Portuguese military staff "will rise, as they always have, to the challenge"

For Helena Carreiras, the Portuguese military staff "will rise, as they always have, to the challenge, showing that Portugal is ready to respond to the collective security and defence needs in the Euro-Atlantic area".

The Minister also said that "at a moment when the needs of the Armed Forces, given the growth in crises throughout the world, is on the centre of media attention, we must know how to explain to the Portuguese population that taking part in collective efforts to ensure international peace and security is above all a legal imperative that serves our own security".

Helena Carreiras went on to say that Portugal has, since 1993, "taken part in several international operations theatres", underlining that "in the second half of 2021 alone, 1,465 soldiers were deployed to international missions" in the Baltic, Mediterranean, Central African Republic, and the Atlantic.

"To meet the complex demands of the current operations theatres requires, above all, a diversity in terms of skills, perspectives and approaches", she further noted.