As a section of Goans who felt a sense of history and thesignificance of the occasion stood awestruck at the ornate and exquisitemasterpiece that the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa is, very few knew what else wasin store. Half an hour later they stood in front of a man “ their very own oralmost “ António LuÃs dos Santos da Costa, Presidente da Câmara Municipal deLisboa or literally, President of the Municipal Chamber of Lisbon"
Antonio da Costa, elected in 2007 from the Socialist partyis on the short list of Lisbon’s longestserving presidents (or Mayors), is ofpartial Goan descent through his father, the writer Orlando da Costa, a son of Margao. His mother, the writer Maria Antónia Palla,is Portuguese. As President Da Costa welcomed the Goan delegation with a proud“my father was from Goa” and recalled the friendship and gastronomy of its people,there were lumps in throats and moist eyes.
But if Costa has managed to run the government of Lisbonwith his own cabinet (that is the power the heads of municipalities, especiallythat of Lisbon, have), making it officially one of Europe’s best capitals(named European City of the year by the UK Academy of Urbanism) it’s not onsentiments and emotions alone. The moist eyes soon dried when he gentlyreminded the delegation in passing that Lisbon and Panjim had signed afriendship and cooperation agreement in 1989, but it had ‘little practical”effect. He added that in 2003, in the spirit of larger potential engagement, adelegation from Lisbon went to Goa. What he implied was that barring exchangingpleasantries and Goa making promises of getting back with details of help thatit would need in city planning, little actually happened.
Of course, the mayor had a sense of occasion and the warmthof the welcome overcame memories, of any, of Goa’s failures but it underlined asignificant lesson Goa must learn. If it is looking at Portugal either toinvest in or to be guided and influenced by, it needs to understand it can’thappen in recalling the past alone. Certain organisations and bodies inPortugal, borne out of a joint affinity of Portuguese speaking cities ornations, have intended to make Panjim (and/or Goa) inclusive to their plans butit hasn’t quite worked out. For instance UCCLA (Uniao das Cidades Capitals deLingua Portuguesa) or capital cities where Portuguese is spoken, has beentrying to include Panjim to share with it the benefits that all members get. Infact, the attempt to reach out to Panjim that Mayor Da Costa spoke of, was withthe collaboration of UCCLA, whosepermanent staff are officers of the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa. Speaking to TheGoan, Joao Laplaine Guimaraes of UCCLA said “37 cities from eight countries(including Brazil, Mozambique, East Timor, Angola are a part of this union.Each city pays an annual fee of 4500 euros. In addition, there are corporateswho are a members including TAP, Portugal’s national airline”
The advantages are subjective but vast. Each member countrybenefits from each others’ experiences and strengths, with professional help ininfrastructure, development and urban planning. At the same time, cultural linkagesand exchanges are also forged. As you read this, there is an annual meeting ofPortuguese speaking writers going on in Brazil, organised by UCCLA “There aretwo broad themes of the conference “literature and football”, said MrGuimaraes.
No relationship moves forward without a sense of timing andan element of need, whether we admit it or not, dictates the pace of it. Forthose from Goa who were in Lisbon for the Semana da Cultura and managed to geta grasp of what Portugal was going through, would have realised that Portugalneeds Indian (and Goan) investments. It will reach out willingly because itbelieves that relatively stronger economies will inject cash into itsbeleaguered system.
A total of 1,029 companies disappeared in Lisbon during thefirst quarter of this year, 20 percent more than during the same period of2011, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Ironically, Portuguese nationals are revolting against PrimeMinister Pedro Passos Coelho’s government’s deep austerity measures in thebudget, where council taxes have been raised and the civil service pruned withmore than 40,000 contract workers losing their jobs. These measures have beentaken in lieu of a 78 billion Euro bailout package by the troika (InternationalMonetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission).On Monday night,Portuguese nationals took to the streets in the largest ever mass protestagainst the government in recent times. Opposition Socialists called the taxhike a fiscal atomic bomb which denied the country growth and jobs creation.
This is precisely why the Business and InvestmentOpportunities in Portugal meeting held on the sidelines of the Semana daCultura, Indo Portuguesa, had the top echelons of business and industry wooingIndian businessmen. The pitch was as follows. Lisbon is connected to Brazil bylanguage, Spain by proximity and its urban center has a long tradition ofexploring and trading- perfect startups with global ambitions. It’s officiallyWestern Europe’s least expensive capital with opportunities abound. Lisbon produces 45% of Portugal’s GDP,perfect for any
Bootstrapping entrepreneur. Professor Eugenio ViassaMonteiro of the AESE business school Lisbon and the J F Kennedy School ofGovernment Harvard, said “It’s a good starting point to do business in Lisbon.Companies with Indian connections like TCS, Four Seasons and Siemens are inPortugal. Businesses like food processing, health and tourism can find marketsin Europe through Portugal.
Power point testimonials of Indian corporate heads in Lisbonlike Nitish Kapoor of Reckitt Benckiser, certifying the merits of living andworking in Portugal, were played out, indicating that the wooing was serious.In the audience, among others were the Portuguese Consul General in Goa, AntónioSabido Costa and prominent industrialists , Nitin Kunkolienkar and SrinivasDempo. Mr Dempo told The Goan “Portugal is a great window to Europe. Let’sbegin with something small. We should be open to sectors like renewable energy”
The new Portugal is ready to do business with India via Goa.Is Goa willing to work hard in doing the same? The answer unfortunately is notthe writing on the wall. It still lies in the wind.
