PROVIDENCE – Portugal’s new ambassador to the United States, Francisco Duarte Lopes, said he is in a position to work with Portuguese communities in the United States on the various aspects of institutional aid they receive from Portugal.
“I am well aware that our consular offices lately are not in a position to give a completely acceptable reaction to the wishes of our communities,” the ambassador said at a dinner assembly with leaders of other Portuguese-American organizations and clubs, who welcomed through the Portuguese vice consulate in Providence on Tuesday at the Madeira restaurant in East Providence.
The ambassador said he was fully aware of the difficulties many other people face in getting the information they want from their local Portuguese consulates and court cases for not being able to get an appointment in a timely manner.
He said those disorders are largely due to the lack of staff in consular offices and the difficulty of attracting applicants for vacant positions due to low salaries. According to recent assignment posts, the gross salary for an entry-level position at the consulate is around $1,680 ($1,660) per month or $23,520 ($23,295) per year since they are paid for the equivalent of 14 months (an additional month on holidays and at Christmas).
“I know there’s been a massive effort to recover from the delays of the pandemic. . . But now we are reaching a point where human resources are very low and the salary situations of those who paint in consulates are very bad,” the ambassador said. said. ” These recoveries are now in jeopardy. “
Lopes said he is doing everything he can to help this situation, and the Portuguese government is fully aware of what is happening.
“I know that the government in Lisbon is seriously looking to take the first steps on this factor very soon,” he said. puts across the United States. “
Lopes took over as ambassador to the United States about six months ago.
A career diplomat, in the past he served as Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations for 4 and a half years.
Prior to his appointment to the United Nations, he served at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lisbon, where he rose to the rank of Ambassador in December 2015.
The ambassador told O Jornal that bilateral relations between Portugal and the United States are very solid and have maintained growth.
“They’re very, diverse,” Lopes said.
The ambassador said there is a lot of interest in investments in the renewable energy sector, as well as in the biotechnical and chemical industries and agriculture.
“There are many other sectors that attract Portuguese corporations to the US. “U. S. and U. S. corporations to Portugal,” Lopes said. For example, I was in Indiana a few months ago and visited corporations that invest in Portugal in the motorcycle industry. Portugal is now the largest manufacturer in Europe and one of the leading manufacturers of bicycles and bicycle materials. We attract U. S. corporations that are world leaders in this and other fields. It’s a very varied relationship.
He said the Americans are increasingly creating engineering centers in Portugal.
“The engineers in Portugal are very smart and the workforce, compared to the United States, is still cheap,” he said. “So it’s a very smart investment opportunity for American companies. “
Exports of Portuguese wines, cork and olive oil to the United States are also increasing, he noted.
There are also a growing number of Americans buying homes in Portugal or moving there in search of new job opportunities or to retire due to the low living burden and tax laws.
“This very varied dating is emerging in several areas, and we will do everything we can to continue to make it continue to thrive further,” he said.
Before the assembly dinner, Lopes traveled to Brown University to attend a lecture entitled “Modern Dimensions of the Lusiades de Camões” by Professor Onésimo T. Almeida, whose electronic book “O Século dos Prodígios” includes a bankruptcy on Las Lusiades. vision of the world in the sixteenth century.
The John Carter Brown Library has a rare first edition of Lusiades, and this occasion served to commemorate its 450th anniversary of publication. Widely regarded as the greatest painting of Portuguese-language literature, The Lusiades is an epic poem written by Luís Vaz de Camões. celebrating the discovery of a maritime direction to India through Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
On Monday, the ambassador spent the day in the greater Boston area. He attended a commemorative luncheon at the Faialense Sport Club in Cambridge on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Consulate General of Portugal in Boston. He also had the opportunity to stop at Olá, a bilingual Portuguese-English immersion program at King Open School in Cambridge and the Massachusetts State House, where he hosted through members of the Massachusetts Portuguese-American Legislative Caucus.
Massachusetts Senate Dean Marc R. Pacheco (D-Taunton) described the new ambassador as a “very charismatic leader. “
“He is very committed and very interested in achieving Portuguese communities throughout the United States,” said Senator Pacheco. “It’s great to see the enthusiasm he has for the paintings he does on behalf of the Republic of Portugal here in the United States. There is a willingness and a willing interest in running with America in those difficult times we are going through in the world today. So we’re in very good shape here in the United States in terms of Portuguese-American relations.
Lurdes C. da Silva can be reached at ldasilva@ojornal. com. To read more stories about the Portuguese-speaking network in English and Portuguese, please ojornal. com.