Yakovleva Nailya Magitovna – PhD in History, Leading Researcher Institute of Latin American Studies RAS
The article deals with the current and insufficiently explored issue of Portugal's international relations with Latin American countries. It is shown that after a series of crises, the Portuguese economy managed to reach a growth trajectory, change the image of a European outsider and gain the authority in the world community. Special attention is paid to the current stage of structural modernization, the characteristic of which is the innovatization and digitalization of production processes, the development of high-tech industries. The ongoing changes have led to significant edits in the foreign economic strategy of the Portuguese authorities and the transition to an offensive export policy. The growth of the economy, the course towards its internationalization by supporting exports and expanding foreign economic relations have contributed to the intensification of cooperation with other regions of the world, including Latin American countries. It is noted that the Latin American direction is an important element of the foreign policy activities of the Portuguese authorities. Historically, Portugal's relations with the countries of the region have been built in different formats: at the bilateral level and through participation in regional and interregional groupings. In recent years, there has been an increase in the expansion of Portuguese business in Latin America. And although the process of trade development of Latin American markets faces objective difficulties and develops relatively slowly, the region is assigned the role of a promising partner of Portugal in the implementation of the strategy of export diversification, increasing the share of innovative products of high processing in it. It is emphasized that in every Latin American country, Portugal is trying (sometimes very effectively) to find its trade and economic niche. At the same time, Brazil has a special status in Portugal's relations with Latin American partners.
Portugal, Latin America, economic modernization, trade, export strategy, international relations
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