Minister Álvaro Santos Pereira said that making Portugal one of the top ten business-friendly countries involves being “swifter to act and less bureaucratic”, before announcing the government’s policies for strategic sectors.

The Portuguese private sector performance outstrips that of Sweden (59.6%) and Ireland (59.5%), though it significantly trails behind Germany (79%), and Luxembourg (68%) and just a whisker behind Belgium (61%).

It’s making world headlines: Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to invest his money in a mobile technologies start-up. Find out more about the firm chosen by the Portuguese crack football player.

The official opening ceremony for both the Year of Portugal in Brazil and the parallel Year of Brazil in Portugal is to take place in Brasília on Friday, 7 September.

“The programme is going well, whatever they say,” said the government’s senior privatisation consultant António Borges in a speech.

With Portugal’s traditional partners in Europe in recession, Deputy Minister Miguel Relvas said that business must look elsewhere to make the most of its investments in new technology and machinery.

According to Secretary of State for the Economy and Regional Development António Almeida Henriques, “these (export) numbers show the dynamism of the Portuguese economy and the favourable climate in Mozambique for growth.”

The programme of his one-day visit includes a meeting with Prime Minister José Maria Neves and Foreign Minister Jorge Borges.

Newspaper Expresso has reported that both airlines asked the government for TAP’s “information memorandum”, which includes various operating data about the company such as its cash position and routes.