The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations said in Honolulu, the Azores and Hawaii have "all the conditions" to enhance and strengthen your relationship, "in honour of the emigrants and their role in the development" of this archipelago Pacific.
 
"Therefore, I believe that the meeting with the Governor of Hawaii has a profound institutional and political significance", said Rodrigo Oliveira, who spoke at the end of a meeting with David Ige that took place Thursday at the State House of Hawaii.
 
"I had the opportunity to convey, on behalf of the President of the Government and also of the Azorean people, a very warm and fraternal greeting to Governor David Ige and the Hawaiian People" the Regional Under Secretary said, adding that he delivered a letter from Vasco Cordeiro with an invitation to visit the Azores.
 
At the meeting, according to Rodrigo Oliveira, "there were several topics under discussion such as renewable energy, especially geothermal energy, which is a source used both in the Azores and in Hawaii, but also civil protection, good practices in sustainable tourism or maritime and fisheries policies."
 
The potential for cooperation among university and research institutions, particularly in the fields of volcanology and seismology, and also in aquaculture was also under consideration at this meeting with the Governor of Hawaii.
 
The Azores and Hawaii have been states brothers since the early 1980s, an institutional link which, according to Rodrigo Oliveira, "the political will now strengthen and, in this context, it is important to note that support and cooperation between the Regional Directorate for Communities and Portuguese associations in Hawaii over the years."
 
"I have no doubt that we can renew cooperation based on the history and friendship between our peoples, but also on a several features that are common to both regions, such as the fact that both are archipelagos made up of distant and isolated islands on the Atlantic and the Pacific with considerable maritime areas, in addition to being volcanic and seismic regions. Moreover, they are also islands with remarkable biodiversity as well as with great cultural and natural wealth," said the Regional Secretary.
 
Also on Thursday, Rodrigo Oliveira visited the Portuguese Genealogical & Historical Society of Hawaii, an institution founded in 1981 with the mission to research and disseminate Portuguese family origins in Hawaii, and met with its president, Dan Nelson.
 
This institution has a library with consular records, genealogy books concerning the Azores; many of which were a gift from the Regional Directorate for Communities. It also features a database containing information of over 270,000 Hawaiians of Portuguese origin, mostly descendants of Azoreans from São Miguel Island.
 
"We are pleased to see this desire of knowing their origins, even with this considerable geographical and time distance. In fact, it is a source of pride to know that there are thousands of people who identify themselves with the Azores," stated Rodrigo Oliveira.
 
On this first day of the official visit to Hawaii, Rodrigo Oliveira also visited the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit of the Holy Trinity, founded in 1891, in Punchbowl, an area where many of the first Azoreans settled in the late 19th century; there are several arteries whose names are related to Portugal.
 
This brotherhood, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, will celebrate the Holy Spirit with a "coronation" mass and a procession that includes the statute of the Holy Christ of Miracles on float, followed by a lunch where meat, sweet bread and "malassadas" (fritters) will be served.
 
Before leaving for the island of Maui, the Regional Secretary also visited the Monument to the Portuguese in Hawaii. It was built in 1985 in the heart of the institutional district of Honolulu, capital of Hawaii, in recognition and honour to the role of the Portuguese in the development of this US state.
 
The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations participates in the opening ceremony of Heritage Hall on the island of Maui. The event is organised by the Portuguese Association of Maui, and will meet with the Mayor of that County.