Portugal reopens investment promotion agency in Caracas

Portugal announced on Tuesday the reopening in Caracas of its Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency (AICEP), which will operate attached to the European country's embassy, according to the portal SWI swissinfo.ch. The decision was made public during the 2026 Portugal-Venezuela Business Forum, a space for bilateral exchange aimed at strengthening trade ties between the two nations.

Portugal's Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, said the agency's goal is to maintain a permanent presence to support Portuguese companies, identify business opportunities and facilitate partnerships with the Venezuelan business sector. The visiting delegation includes 37 entities from strategic areas such as technology, digital transformation, energy, construction, industry and agrifood, according to coverage by El Nacional.

For her part, acting president Delcy Rodríguez described the move as the start of a new cycle of economic cooperation and thanked Portugal for its earlier humanitarian support following the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.

The revival of these diplomatic and commercial bodies seeks to boost bilateral exchange in a context in which European private sector firms are weighing opportunities in the local market. Going forward, the key will be to see which concrete projects the 37 companies in the trade mission manage to carry out in sectors such as technology and agroindustry.