The President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA), Luís Garcia, yesterday defended the importance of affirming the geopolitical and geostrategic potential of the Azores, recognizing that this is a “central challenge” for Autonomy that requires “investment and concerted action.”

The President of the Azorean Parliament was speaking in Angra do Heroísmo at the conference on the Lajes Base Interpretive Center, promoted by the Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government, where he acknowledged that “our Autonomy is only fully realized when it is able to transform geography into strategy and insularity into opportunity.”

Emphasizing the important contribution that the Region makes in areas such as defense, security, science, and research, President Luís Garcia argued that “there is an ultra-centrality that we must affirm,” rejecting “reductive, almost provincial views that insist on looking at these islands as something merely peripheral.”

In this regard, he warned of the current global context of geopolitical instability, marked by growing tensions, arguing that “we cannot ignore it” and that this scenario, “unprecedented in recent decades,” requires Portugal, the European Union, and the United States to “strengthen their commitments and increase investments in security and defense” to ensure stability in the transatlantic space.

During his speech, the President of the Azorean Parliament emphasized that the joint work of the Portuguese Armed Forces with regional and international entities demonstrates that the Azores, even with limited resources, “have done a lot” in maritime surveillance, scientific research, and international cooperation, and warned that “it is essential that political power recognizes and supports this strategic contribution.”

From Press release

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.