Lisbon: Almost forced into presidency after having gone to his first love - that is teaching economics - Prof. Anibal Cavaco Silva seems to be a determined man aiming at not only changing the face of Portugal and its people but also trying to give a whole new direction and thrust to the future relationship between India and Portugal.

Prof. Silva feels that with economics guiding the foreign policy and political agenda of governments around the world, it is beneficial for both the countries to tap their common potential and emerge as major economic and trade partners in the coming years. In his frank and informal interaction with the group of visiting journalists from India in Lisbon before his visit to the country beginning January 10, the Portuguese President touched upon various issues including India's claims to a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council and also Portugal acting as the gateway for India to gain entry into the 500 million strong market of the European Union countries as well as huge emerging markets like Brazil and Africa.

Describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the `father of the successful economic reforms and liberalisation' phase in India, Prof. Silva declared that his main thrust during his visit would be to build a sustainable economic and trade relationship for the future and consolidate on the excellent political relations between India and Portugal.

"The success story of India on the economic front was one of the study subjects for my students when I was teaching economics in the Faculty of Economics in the Lisbon University," he remarked.

Asked about the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, Prof. Silva said that Portugal would give its reaction when the agreement is officially presented. "We shall study the whole agreement and then express our views on the issue. It would not be proper for me to make a statement on the issue at this moment," he remarked. Stating that Portugal was hoping to change the situation on the trade relations front with India in comparison to China, Prof. Silva said his country was interested in building a privileged relationship with India as was the case with China. India has highly qualified people and we want to take advantage of the knowledge- based society in India. "It is better to do business with a democracy as it ensures more transparency. Therefore, it is very important that entrepreneurs from both countries explore possibilities of making business better in future," he added. "India has achieved tremendous growth and leadership in information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and communications sectors and we also have some Portuguese firms that are operating in software and have a presence in global markets. India is also considered close due to its historical and cultural links of the past. In fact, Portugal was among the first nations to support India's claim for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council. This is an indicator of the role that India could play in the area of world peace and stability. We think that Goa is something we have in common."

On the threat of global terrorism, Prof. Silva said the extradition treaty with India was under discussion and hopefully it would be inked during the visit. Stating that Portugal had approved a new immigration law, the President said, "We do not want gangsters in Portugal. We are also concerned about the threat of terrorism. We are for more wide ranging cooperation among the various nations to fight the new threat of global terrorism and fundamentalism. We have put in place a new law and hope that it will have no loopholes for misuse in the future."

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