The President of the Regional Government, Vasco Cordeiro, launched today a challenge to the Azorean community in the USA to mobilise themselves in the defence of the Region's interests by conveying to the senators elected by the respective states the importance of reassessing the U.S. decision concerning Lajes Air Base.

"This is an important matter to mobilise the entire Portuguese community as well as the Azorean community in order to defend the Azores and our Region from the adverse impact brought by that decision," said Vasco Cordeiro. The President of the Government spoke during a joint interview he granted to the Portuguese radio station WJFD, Portuguese Times newspaper and Channel 20 from New Bedford, state of Massachusetts.

Vasco Cordeiro warned that if the initial decision to substantially reduce U.S. military personnel at Lajes Air Base enters into force, the impact on Terceira Island may result in an increase of the unemployment rate between 30 and 40 percent and a drop in the regional GDP by six percent.

The President of the Government reiterated that this "is not a closed matter", because there is, in addition to the decision taken by U.S. administration, the voting of the House of Representatives that holds this decision in abeyance for the year 2014.

"Now, we have to continue our efforts as this matter still needs to be approved by the Senate." In this context, the role played by the Azorean emigrant community in the USA with the senators elected by their states.

"This is a topic that should mobilise the community to help the Azores. This is my call for the mobilisation of Azorean emigrants in the defence of their land so that they can convey to the senators of their states the importance of approving this matter at the Senate in the terms defined by the House of Representatives," stated Vasco Cordeiro. The President of the Government noted that the decision taken by the U.S. administration contains "aspects that have not been taken into account yet and need to be reassessed in terms of the impact on Terceira's economy.

Accordingly, the government official urged "all Azoreans to convey to their senators, either by email, letter or any other form, the urgent need to take into account these concerns and the impact that this decision might have on the fragile economy of Terceira Island.”

Vasco Cordeiro stressed that "there is still much to do in order to bring to the attention of the U.S. Government some aspects that, from our standpoint, have not been adequately taken into account in this decision." Nonetheless, the government official emphasised the "intense work" that has been developed by the Government of the Azores over the last months in collaboration with the Ambassador of Portugal in Washington, Nuno Brito, who has done "an exemplary job in terms of dedication and commitment" to solve this issue.

"This recent voting that took place at the House of Representatives is the result of the commitment and persistence of Ambassador Nuno Brito on this matter," praised the President of the Government.

During the interview, Vasco Cordeiro also addressed other issues related to the current situation of the Azores, including the Regional Government's decision to pay the holiday allowance before the deadline set by the National Government and the Regional Government of Madeira.

"We understand that the consumption capacity is one of the main problems affecting the economic sector. If we have the possibility of injecting money into the economy, we have an obligation to do so as soon as possible since it will help families regaining purchasing power and, therefore, they will be able to contribute to economic recovery," said Vasco Cordeiro.

The recovery of tourism through a promotional campaign in foreign markets to reduce the traditional dependence on the national market was also addressed by Vasco Cordeiro, who stressed that this effort "is showing some results in the recovery of the sector."

In this regard, the government official considered that markets such as Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and France "have responded very well to the tourism promotion efforts that have been undertaken."

However, the President of the Government mentioned that the regional economy is not exclusively dependent on tourism, pointing out the dairy and fisheries sector as other areas where the Azores have a good position.