Portugal’s ‘man in Berlin’ Luis de Almeida Sampaio said that German investment in Portugal is "structural and strategic" while noting that various sectors of the German economy still have much to discover about Portugal and the Portuguese.
The ambassador finishes his term of office at the end of September and was interviewed by Lusa about what German companies think of Portugal and the Portuguese.
Sampaio said that German investment in Portugal is "long-term" and praised those German companies that have invested in Portugal during the austerity period saying this was due to the credibility of the Portuguese market.
The ambassador said that Portugal is a competitive country and denied that cheap labour was the main reason for foreign investment in the country.
Portuguese competitiveness, said Sampaio, is based on "rare mix of academic and technical adaptability" of the Portuguese workers and "social cohesion which remained even during very difficult periods of turbulence."
As for the Portuguese community living in Germany, the ambassador said there now is a cultural centre in Germany and that "there is a lot of curiosity regarding Portuguese culture" among Germans.
To Luís de Almeida Sampaio, the 140,000 Portuguese living in Germany are "respected and recognised" among the German public.
A "new wave of artists, entrepreneurs, university professors" has emigrated to Germany which has contributed to this good image, added the ambassador, the irony clearly escaping him.
Luís de Almeida Sampaio took office as ambassador of Portugal in Berlin in 2012 and will be replaced by João Mira Gomes, the former Secretary of State for Defence and the current Permanent Representative of Portugal to NATO in Brussels.
