Lisbon: India and Portugal on June 24 launched a joint international start-up hub soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his amazement that there has been no bilateral Indian Prime Ministerial visit ever to this European nation that is home to around 70,000 people of Indian origin.
The decision to launch the start-up hub was taken during Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s visit to India in January 2017.
“Portugal has emerged as one of the most vibrant European ecosystems for entrepreneurship,” Modi said during a joint address to the media with Costa, who traces his origin to Goa, after bilateral discussions.
“India too has its own viable start-ups and industry. The start-ups here are an exciting space that blends youth, idea, technology, innovation and creativity to generate value and wealth for the benefit of the society,” he said.
Given Goa’s strong cultural and historic connection with Portugal, Modi’s visit, the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to the US and the Netherlands, is significant.
Modi said that it was “surprising for me to know that there had never been a bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Portugal“.
“However, I take satisfaction in the fact that this is the second summit between India and Portugal within a period of six months,” he said.
Costa visited India in January 2017 after becoming head of government in 2016.
“Our economic ties continue to follow an upward trajectory. Bilateral trade has grown 17 per cent in 2016,” Modi said.
“And, the foreign direct investment from Portugal to India, though small, has doubled during 2016-17. But, there is much more that we can do to increase the flow of goods, services, capital and human resources between our two economies.“
Source: Silicon India News
