Foreign relations of Portugal

Foreign relations of Portugal are linked with its historical role as a major player in the Age of Discovery and the holder of the now defunct Portuguese Empire.

Historically, the focus of Portuguese diplomacy has been to preserve its independence, vis-à-vis, the danger of annexation by Spain, and the maintenance of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, which officially came into being in 1386, and with the United Kingdom as a successor to England, it is still in place today.

Other goals have also been constant such as the political stability of the Iberian Peninsula and the affirmation of Portuguese interests in Europe and the Atlantic (also in the Indian and Pacific Oceans throughout different moments in history).

Portugal used its term to launch a dialogue between the EU and Africa and to begin to take steps to make the European economy dynamic and competitive.

[56] Relations between Brazil and Portugal have spanned over four centuries, beginning in 1532 with the establishment of São Vicente, the first Portuguese permanent settlement in the Americas, up to the present day.

They continue to be bound by a common language and ancestral lines in Portuguese Brazilians, which can be traced back hundreds of years.

Turkey's 161 years of political relations with Portugal date back to the Ottoman period when the Visconde do Seixal was appointed as an envoy to Istanbul.

Portuguese links to France have remained very strong and the country is considered one of Portugal's main political partners.

[72] Relations with the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which took power in 1945 after World War II, were only established in 1974 after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution.

[76] In April 1999, Serbia filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice regarding Portugal's use of force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

[74] Historically, the two states were long-standing adversaries, but in recent years, they have enjoyed a much friendlier relationship and in 1986, they entered the European Union together.

[94] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[97] Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE, and the World Trade Organization.