The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations participates, on behalf of the President of Regional Government, in the 2nd Meeting of Investors of the Diaspora that will take place in Viana do Castelo on December 15 and 16.
 
Rui Bettencourt will be accompanied by the Regional Director for Communities, Paulo Teves, Arnaldo Machado and Luis Leal; the latter two are members of the Society for Business Development of the Azores (SDEA). The government official will attend the opening session of the meeting that takes place Friday at 9:30 AM. The event will also include the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, the Minister of Economy, Manuel Caldeira Cabral, the Portuguese Secretary of State for the Communities, José Luis Carneiro, and the Mayor of Viana do Castelo, José Maria Costa.
 
On Saturday, at 2.30 PM, the Minister of Foreign Affairs deliver a speech under the Panel "Other Realities: Regions, Municipalities, Regional and Cross-border Cooperation." It will also features the speeches to be delivered by the Secretary of State for Local Authorities, Carlos Miguel, the Regional for Education of the Regional Government of Madeira, Jorge Carvalho, and the representative of the Council of Galicia, Juan Cividanes Roger, who is also the Head of the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion-IGAPE. The panel will be moderated by journalist Vitor Pinto.
 
Under the motto "Knowing to Invest," this 2nd Meeting involves more than three hundred participants, including entrepreneurs, representatives of chambers of commerce, municipal officials as well as agents linked to investments and the internationalisation sector.
 
This meeting aims to highlight the economic importance of the Diaspora and the strategic dimension of the global market it represents as well as to create a favourable environment for networking and sharing experiences. Furthermore, it intends to identify common goals, enhance knowledge and lay the foundations for future partnerships.
 
The event is divided into five panels that provide a context to strategic sectoral policies and the transfer of essential knowledge to investors. It will address topics related to opportunities, institutions, tools to support investment, participation in networks, levels and models of economic organisation. There will also be information and dissemination panels for the presentation and demonstration of projects and proposals from various areas of interest.
 
In addition to the various panels and respective spaces for debate, the event will also feature mini stands for promotional entities, demonstrations of local and regional products, among others. The Azores will have their stand where Society for Business Development of the Azores (SDEA) will be represented as well as the Regional Directorate for Tourism. The aim is to disseminate the archipelago and the existing incentives and support programmes in the Region.
 
The 2nd Meeting of Investors of the Diaspora is organised by the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities/Investor Support Office of the Diaspora and Viana do Castelo City Hall, which hosts this initiative that takes place at Fort of Santiago da Barra.