Visiting Portuguese parliamentarian Paulo Rios de Oliveira described Taiwan as a key democratic partner with shared values, during a meeting with Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei Monday.
De Oliveira, head of the Portugal-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, arrived in Taiwan with six other Portuguese lawmakers on April 14 for a six-day visit.
De Oliveira said the trip aimed to display his firm support for Taiwan, which he described as a peace-loving nation that respected human rights, according to a statement released by the Presidential Office.
The statement added that de Oliveira and Lai agreed to strengthen cooperation on security and economic issues between Taiwan and Portugal.
De Oliveira told Lai that there was a strong affinity between Portugal and Taiwan because both were democratic countries that share the same values and ideals, the statement said.
"We are here when Taiwan needs friends," de Oliveira told Lai, according to the statement.
The statement said that Lai thanked Oliveira and his colleagues for their long-term support for Taiwan, especially at a time of escalating tensions with China.
Lai noted de Oliveira and 29 other Portuguese parliamentarians attended an event hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Lisbon in February, according to the statement.
Lai also praised de Oliveira's mourning in the Portuguese parliament of the victims in the April 2021 derailment of a Taroko Express train in Taiwan, the statement said.
The vice president said there were parallels between Taiwan's democratic emergence and the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974, adding that both countries shared a resolve to defend democracy.
