LISBON, Aug 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Portuguese Minister of Economy and the Sea Antonio Costa Silva said that the government will take measures to facilitate the immigration to Portugal and ease the shortage of workers, which he described as “the heart of the government’s concerns.”
Speaking at the opening of the 41st edition of the Handicraft, Tourism, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry Fair, in the city of Lagoa in southern Portugal, he admitted the “need to significantly increase the active population, because this is an extremely important asset for the country’s development.”
In addition to facilitating the entry of workers from the countries of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, the minister said that Portugal is also making “other agreements, namely with Morocco, India, and Indonesia, which have the manpower in excess.”
The official stressed that Portugal “will not be able to develop the economy with the country in demographic retraction,” he said, referring to the fact that the Portuguese population is not renewing itself at the necessary speed.
According to Portugal’s censuses carried out in 2021, Portugal’s population dropped by 214,286 in the last decade. — NNN-XINHUA
