Time to face the raw and naked truth

Blog Living Timorously - Sunday, 15 July 2007
Time to face the raw and naked truth

In 2004, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, former Portuguese Prime Minister, and now President, delivered a speech, in which he lamented that Portugal was exporting less and less, falling behind neighbouring Spain and other EU countries, saying that "we must face facts, it’s the raw and naked truth that we’re not capable of penetrating international markets where competition is strong and productivity is higher".

He was right then, and he is right now. One of the reasons why it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify East Timor's links with Portugal, is because it is so timid about establishing trade and investment links with the surrounding Asia-Pacific region. If Australia and Indonesia are ignorant of East Timor's history, then Portugal is ignorant of its geography.

The Portuguese like to go on about their historic links with Asia, but that's really all they are: historical. By contrast, countries European that never had any colonial presence in Asia, such as Denmark, are actively involved in trade with it. Despite being half the size of Portugal, Denmark has more embassies in Asia, and more companies investing there. When establishing ties with Asian countries, the Danes ask "can we make money there?", but the Portuguese ask "can we preserve our language there?"

In fairness, the French are also mad keen on promoting their language, despite the fact that even in formerly French Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, people prefer to learn English. But France still has a degree of economic importance, which Portugal does not, meaning that middle-class types in Singapore or Jakarta will go along to the Alliance Française to learn French. Similarly, Germany's importance means that people will go along to the Goethe Institut to learn German. But would these people go along to the local Instituto Camões to learn Portuguese? Nope, not least as there aren't many branches in Southeast Asia.

It's all well and good to promote learning of languages for learning's sake, rather than just materialistic and utilitarian reasons, but the East Timorese are entirely within their rights to ask proponents of learning Portuguese "what's in it for us?"

As an American advertising slogan in the 1980s put it "where's the beef?" Looking through an Economist Intelligence Unit Country Report on East Timor, I was amazed to find that Portugal not only lagged behind Indonesia and Australia in terms of trade, but Bangladesh!

If Portugal wants to be taken seriously in the Asia-Pacific region, it needs to start taking the Asia-Pacific region seriously.