Yemeni-Portuguese relations

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Yemeni-Portuguese relations
Location of Portugal and Yemen
PortugalPortugal YemenYemen
Portugal Yemen

The Yemeni-Portuguese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Yemen and Portugal . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since 1975.

Today's bilateral relations are weak. Historically, the presence of the Portuguese sailors in the 16th century should be mentioned.

In 2015, 18 Yemeni citizens were registered in Portugal, while in 2008 one Portuguese was registered in Yemen.

history

The Portuguese fleet under Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque landed in their mission in 1507 also on the island of Socotra , at the then capital Suq. They built a fortress but left the island in 1511 and it came under the control of the Sultanate of Mahra .

The Portuguese later took the city of Aden and maintained a trading post here. On February 26, 1548, the Turkish admiral Piri Reis succeeded in conquering Aden.

Section of the Cantino Planisphere (1502) with the region between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf

The region between East Africa across the Gulf of Aden to the Persian Gulf was further controlled by Portugal through its possession of Hormuz . After Hormuz fell to Persia again in 1622 , Portugal, weakened by the personal union with Spain, expanded its holdings in Muscat to become its new center of power in the region. After Muscat fell to the Omanis in 1650, the Portuguese lost their remaining possessions and thus their supremacy in the region, but remained with ships and sporadic alliances until the 18th century, when the British finally ousted them completely.

The colonial and anti-communist Estado Novo regime in Portugal maintained diplomatic relations neither with the Yemeni Arab Republic (North Yemen), founded in 1962, nor with the Socialist People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen).

After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, Portugal, which had now returned to democracy, fundamentally changed its external relations. It granted its colonies independence and established direct relationships with a large number of other countries. On April 18, 1975, Portugal entered into diplomatic relations with South Yemen and on May 23, 1975 with North Yemen.

As a result of domestic political unrest, diplomatic relations between North Yemen and Portugal were broken off on June 1, 1977 and resumed on June 10, 1978.

Portugal's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Pedro Alves Machado , became the first Portuguese representative in North Yemen to be accredited on October 26, 1982.

Portugal has not yet set up its own representation in the two Yemeni states that united to form the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990. The new Yemen also did not open an embassy in Portugal.

On his trip through the Middle East, the Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado visited Yemen in April 2008. The Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdallah al-Qirbi expressed his hope for a stronger commitment of Portugal in Yemen at the press conference after the signing of a bilateral Memorandum of Understandings on regular mutual visits. The Portuguese were based here 500 years ago and have left no resentment , said al-Qirbi, who also emphasized Portugal's neutral stance in conflicts in the region, with which the country would offer itself as a mediator. Amado agreed and confirmed Portugal's willingness to do more to support Yemen in the EU . Portugal does not have a strong presence in the region, but the country is an important partner of Yemen and wants to be known as a defender of Yemeni interests in the EU, said Amado.

As a result of the increasingly unstable situation since the protests in Yemen in 2011/2012 , which culminated in the military intervention in Yemen since 2015 , Yemeni-Portuguese relations did not grow as planned.

diplomacy

Portugal does not have its own embassy in Yemen, the country belongs to the administrative district of the Portuguese ambassador in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh .

Yemen also does not have its own embassy in Portugal, but is double accredited there with its representative in the Spanish capital Madrid .

Mutual consulates have not been set up either.

economy

Portucel Soporcel factory in Setúbal : Paper is Portugal's most important main export to Yemen

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP is not represented in Yemen, the AICEP office in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh is responsible.

In 2015, Portugal exported goods worth EUR 0.437 million to Yemen (2014: 2.660 million; 2013: 1.163 million; 2012: 1.423 million; 2011: 0.412 million), of which 27.8% was paper and cellulose , 20.5% vehicles and vehicle parts, 15.1% plastics, 9.9% machines and devices and 9.5% food.

In the same period, Yemen delivered goods worth EUR 0.011 million to Portugal (2014: -; 2013: 0.162 million; 2012: 0.207 million; 2011: 0.664), exclusively plastic samples. In 2011, Yemen had supplied agricultural products for 383,000 euros and textiles for 281,000 euros, but its exports have largely dried up with the civil war since 2013 .

In 2015, Yemen was 170th as a buyer and 174th as a supplier for Portuguese foreign trade, while Portugal was 62nd among buyers and 63rd among suppliers in Yemeni foreign trade.

Web links

Commons : Yemeni-Portuguese Relations  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Overview of diplomatic relations with Yemen , diplomatic institute of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ Sums of the number of Yemenis in the official foreigner statistics by district , Portuguese Immigration and Border Authority SEF, accessed on April 2, 2017
  3. ↑ Overview of Yemeni-Portuguese migration (Table A.3), accessed on April 2, 2017
  4. ↑ Fernando Cristóvão (Ed.): Dicionário Temático da Lusofonia. Texto Editores, Lisbon / Luanda / Praia / Maputo 2006 ( ISBN 972-47-2935-4 ), p. 815f
  5. ↑ Portugal e Iémen reatam relação bilateral interrompida há 500 anos (“Portugal and Yemen are re-establishing their bilateral relations that were interrupted 500 years ago”), article from 2008 on the website of the public service broadcaster RTP , accessed on August 5, 2017
  6. ↑ List of Portuguese missions abroad , website of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on April 28, 2017
  7. ↑ a b c Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Yemen , Excel file retrieval from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP, accessed on April 2, 2017