3.1       Establishment of Diplomatic Relations

Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Portugal were established on 7 November 1949.

3.2       Significance of Diplomatic Relations

Pakistan Portugal relations are historically friendly. At the international level, both countries have supported each other, including candidatures and on several issues of global importance. Bilateral trade has been growing in the recent years. Number of Pakistani diaspora is also increasing in Portugal.

3.3       Consultation Mechanism

            Pakistan and Portugal have signed a MoU on Bilateral Political Consultations. Three rounds of Bilateral Political Consultations have been held.

The Third Round of Bilateral Political Consultations was held in Lisbon on 13 April 2023. The Pakistan delegation was headed by Mr. Muhammad Saleem, Additional Secretary (Europe), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Rui Vinhas, Director General for Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Portuguese side. The two sides discussed the whole range of bilateral relations.

3.4       Trade and Investment Cooperation

Bilateral trade between the two countries has been following an upward trajectory, especially Pakistan’s exports to Portugal. Pakistan’s exports have grown from USD 173 million in 2020 to USD 222 million in 2023. Balance of Trade remains in favour of Pakistan. The exports from Pakistan mainly include textile products, agricultural products, leather products and surgical instruments. Imports from Portugal include metals, articles of metals, machinery, electrical appliances, chemical products etc. 

Web Summit is one of the largest events in the IT sector that is held in Lisbon every year. Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) established a National Stall in the Web Summit that was held in Lisbon from 13 to 16 November 2023. Five companies represented Pakistan in the National Stall. There were a number of other companies/founders from Pakistan who participated in the Web Summit on their own. This was the second time that Pakistan participated in the Web Summit. In the Web Summit 2022, Pakistan pavilion was established by the TDAP and a delegation of three Pakistani companies was part of this pavilion.

3.5       Education, Culture, and Tourism

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University, and Amadora Inova (an Incubation Center in Portugal) on 17 November 2022.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Fibrenamics - Institute of Innovation in Fiber-based Materials and Composites, University of Minho, and National Textile University (NTU), Pakistan.

Pakistan Embassy has been in contact with Portuguese tour operators/travel agencies. These agencies have arranged many tourism groups to Pakistan. A Portuguese travel journalist visited Pakistan with a group and wrote an article titled “Pakistan: Visit to the Center of a Kaleidoscope” that featured as the Cover Story of the February 2023 edition of Volta Ao Mundo, one of the largest travel magazines in Portugal.

3.6       Pakistani Diaspora

According to Portugal Data, 5,310 Pakistani citizens have acquired Portuguese nationality from 2008 to 2022. According to SEF (Foreigners and Border Service), 10,828 Pakistani citizens are having residence in Portugal as of 2022. This brings total number of Pakistani citizens, or people of Pakistan origin, in Portugal to around 16,138. The actual number is higher.

            Most of the community members live in Lisbon, followed by Porto and Faro. Some of them are operating independent small businesses, including restaurants, mobile shops and car rental services. Some work in agriculture sector.