Portugal’s Prime Minister has described the country as having a positive economic outlook and being politically stable.

Speaking at an event promoted by the Luso-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, António Costa acknowledged the difficulty of the global situation, yet reiterated that Portugal is an ideal location to be at the helm of the digital transition and has a robust commitment to renewable energies, Portugal News reports.

“Beyond geographic position, beyond human capital, beyond funding opportunities, the truth is that we have an institutional, geopolitical and financial framework that can be an acquired factor of trust. Portugal has political stability, as few countries have”, Costa stated.

As such, he added that Portugal will be “the fourth safest country in the world – and in times of war this is no small feat – and has managed to maintain a firm trajectory of consolidation of public accounts”.

In regard to economic stability in Portugal, the PM added: “Although the Stability Pact is suspended, last year we managed to stay below the 3% deficit threshold and this year we will surely be below or at least very close to the objective, a deficit of 1.9%,” he stated.

Moreover, despite the government support during the pandemic: “Portugal managed to resume the inversion of the debt weight in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Costa said.

“We can confidently say that we will arrive with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 100% by the end of this legislature. We can continue to maintain the objectives even in this scenario of uncertainty that surrounds us, which is a very important factor of confidence. In this context, rating agencies have continued to improve the outlook of Portugal”, he added. 

Furthermore, in terms of renewables, Costa said Portugal has the seventh lowest inflation in the euro area, “essentially because of a factor and that has to do with the intensity of the use of renewable energies.

“About 60% of the electricity we consume already comes from renewable sources and in four years it will be 80% from renewable sources, which saves us having to discuss, like others, whether or not it is necessary to take steps back in the process of decarbonisation of the economy”, he stated.