Rio, 3/8/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The prime minister of Portugal, José Manuel Durão Barroso, who is visiting Brazil, says that Brazil does not need a gateway into the European community because Brazil is big enough and important enough to deal directly with any country there. But, said Barroso, the Brazilian business community knows that Europe can be accessed through Portugal. And as of May, the European Union will expand to 25 member countries making it an ever more attractive investment destination.

Barroso points out that Portugal, with 10 million inhabitants, has become one of the biggest foreign investors in Brazil over the last decade. Portugal and Brazil have translated mutual confidence into significant investments ranging from steel to informatics to commerce.

Today Brazil and Portugal inaugrate their 7th Bilateral Summit (Cimeira), which is an opportunity to deepen those relations. In the past the summits have found solutions for problems such as Brazilians residing in Portugal. (AB)