According to Paulo Estevão, at the meeting of the second Council of the Azorean Diaspora (CDA), which began today in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, the councilors mentioned "the enormous potential that exists for economic development through the exchange" with Azorean communities in the diaspora that want to consume Azorean products and invest in the territory.

"There are a set of interventions to request that the mechanisms of exchange be improved from an economic point of view, taking into account the enormous potential that a large group of investors who can invest in the Azores, who are interested in doing so from an economic point of view, but also from an emotional point of view, represent," he said.

The councilors "want to help the Azores" and also expressed their willingness for the Casas dos Açores and the different Azorean associations spread throughout the world to be able to "serve as embassies and represent the interests of the Azores," he added.

The need to increase cultural exchange, so that more Azoreans from the diaspora "can visit the region and that more people connected to culture and [to] cultural projects can also reach the group" of the diaspora, was another aspect addressed at the meeting.

"Another concern that was expressed is in relation to [the airline] SATA and the maintenance and even the reinforcement of the connection [by air] to our diaspora, which is fundamental, which is economically viable and which is important to reinforce in sectors that are sectors where our diaspora is very numerous and that has a great interest in maintaining these connections," said Paulo Estêvão.

According to the official, in order to facilitate the diaspora's investment in the region, the regional executive of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition will "try to reach a consensus" on what type of mechanisms will need to be created, but an essential aspect concerns information.

At the meeting, which will run until Wednesday at the Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada, votes of solidarity were approved in relation to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), which was hit by a climate tragedy, and in relation to the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, which was affected by a fire on Saturday.

The second meeting of the CDA is organized by the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, through the Regional Directorate for Communities.

This advisory body of the Government of the Azores was created in 2021, aiming to ensure the participation, collaboration and consultation of representatives of the Azorean communities spread throughout the world.

The CDA, which meets ordinarily every two years, is composed of 35 members, including the 19 councilors chosen by the Azorean diaspora itself, through the electoral districts of Bermuda (one), Brazil (five), Canada (five), United States of America (five), Uruguay (one), Portuguese mainland and Madeira (one) and rest of the world (one), for four-year terms.

This body also includes the Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, three representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, a representative of the World Council of Casas dos Açores and the regional directors with competences in the areas of emigration and communities, social solidarity, professional qualification and employment, culture, tourism and incentives.

The CDA also includes a representative of the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, a representative of the emigrant associations with presence and activity in the region, a representative of the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities and a representative of the Council of Portuguese Communities.

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