On 3 March, Ambassador António Martins da Cruz, Chairman of the Board of OVIA, participated in the presentation of Issue No. 8 of the Revista de Ciência Política 1820, held at the Palácio da Bolsa in Porto, where he delivered a conference entitled “The New International Order.”
In his address, the Ambassador analysed the structural transformations of the international system, questioning whether we are already witnessing a new world order or rather an accelerated process of global strategic redefinition. He referred to the transition from the post-1945 model, through the post-1989 liberal order, to the current phase of multipolarity, marked by great power rivalries, economic fragmentation and the weakening of multilateralism.
The following themes were addressed:
• The war in Ukraine and the reconfiguration of Russia’s role;
• China’s strategic and economic rise;
• The redefinition of United States foreign policy;
• The weakening of the United Nations;
• The European Union’s uncertain position between strategic autonomy and the strengthening of the European pillar of NATO.
The Ambassador and former Minister of Foreign Affairs also reflected on Portugal’s positioning within this context, highlighting three fundamental pillars of Portuguese foreign policy: Europe, Atlanticism, and the Portuguese-speaking space (CPLP). He further emphasised the strategic centrality of the Azores and Madeira in the Atlantic, as well as the role of the Portuguese diaspora as a vector of global influence.
The participation of OVIA’s Chairman in this debate reinforces the Investment Agency’s commitment to broad strategic reflection on Portugal’s international positioning and on the importance of geopolitics in investment attraction and territorial affirmation.
