Yesterday Prime-minister António Costa invited Japanese investors in London to open their wallets for Portugal, pushing forward the country as a substitute to settle in after the UK's departure from the European Union.
"We are committed to maintaining the closest possible relationship with the UK, based on shared values, and to keeping free trade as free as possible in terms of tariffs and other barriers” stated Mr. Costa.
However, in a closing speech at the international Portugal-Japan Investment Seminar in London at the Financial Times, organised by Portugal's Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP), he warned that access to the single market would not be the same.
"Any company, British or Japanese, wishing to maintain its operations in the EU internal market after Brexit will find a safe haven, a fertile soil, and a qualified, innovative and sophisticated destination for its business in Portugal," he guaranteed.
According to the Prime Minister, currently approximately 100 Japanese multinational companies operate in Portugal, employing thousands of people, referring to the establishment of the Toyota car factory in 1971, but also to more recent arrivals, such as those of Fujitsu, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsui and NTT Data-Everis.
