On June 17 and 18, the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) will host a group of 19 Portuguese-American politicians elected at the federal and state levels from California, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Hawaii, for the 8th edition of the Legislators Dialogue. The 2024 edition will be attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, and the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, among others.

The Portuguese-descendant community in the United States is one of the oldest, with more than a century of history and great diversity, very active in the defense of its historical and cultural heritage, and with strong links to Portugal. Currently, there are 41 elected politicians to the U.S. Congress and to several state Senates with Portuguese ancestry, spread all over the country: from California to Massachusetts, and even elected members in Hawaii.

Since 2015, FLAD has annually brought together elected Portuguese-American politicians at the federal and state levels, from both parties, to raise awareness of Portugal and build bridges through contact with political, economic and social leaders of our country, and strengthen ties with and among political representatives who defend the interests of the Portuguese-descendant community in the US. The Legislators Dialogue allows you to create a network between legislators from different states who cross paths here and establish contacts in a bipartisan logic.

The meeting, which takes place at FLAD’s headquarters in Lisbon, aims to bring together and strengthen relations between these Portuguese-American leaders and Portugal, in order to build bridges and find solutions to shared challenges, and continue the path towards a stronger Portuguese-American community, and more capable of defending its interests in the US.

“The Legislatores Dialogue is a unique opportunity to make known the reality of modern Portugal to these community leaders in the U.S., and to continue the path to greater and better representation of the approximately 1.3 million Portuguese descendants and Portuguese immigrants in the United States. Bringing together these 19 political leaders elected by both parties in a presidential election year demonstrates the centrality of the Portuguese-American community in its political action and how the defense of the interests of Portuguese-descendants transcends partisan divisions.” Rita Faden, President of FLAD.

The 2024 edition will be attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, and the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, among others.

 

 

The two-day program will feature working sessions dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April and Portugal’s history in democracy, on the business environment in Portugal and a presentation of the Transatlantic Trends report, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Bertelsmann Foundation.

VIII LEGISLATORS’ DIALOGUE

June 17th

12:30 pm – Welcome remarks

  • Rita Faden, President of FLAD
  • Randi Levine, US Ambassador to Portugal
  • Francisco Duarte Lopes, Ambassador of Portugal to the US

3:15 pm – 50 years of Portuguese Democracy

  • António Costa Pinto, researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon

4:30 pm – Coffee Break

5:00 pm

  • Pedro Nuno Santos, Secretary General of the Socialist Party

6:00 pm

  • Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic
    (by indication of the Presidency of the Republic, this session will be closed to the press)

June 18th

11.30 am – Doing business: Portugal – United States

  • António Martins da Costa, President AmCham-American Chamber of Commerce

3:00 pm – Meeting at Lisbon City Hall

  • Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon

4:15 pm – Transatlantic Trends

  • Pedro Magalhães, researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon
  • Raquel Vaz Pinto, researcher at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations, NOVA University

5:45 pm – Coffee Break

6:00 pm

  • Paulo Rangel, Minister of Foreign Affairs