Portugal 2030: from country of departures to country of arrivals

When I think about everything I heard and saw at the Web Summit and the Ecosystem Summit, there is an idea that I cannot get out of my head. If we do not spoil what is being done well, Portugal can finally stop being a country of departures to become a true country of arrivals. Investment, talent, companies and, above all, opportunities.
The signs are everywhere. Big tech announcing billions of investments in data centers and AI infrastructure. Projects such as Start Campus in Sines transforming our coast into a strategic point of the world internet. A data center investment pipeline that can be worth several points of GDP. The possibility of receiving an AI gigafactory under a European consortium led by national financial institutions. All this ceases to be a dream when it begins to enter official plans, memos, and contracts.
At the same time, the country is moving from within. Fábrica de Unicórnios opens a health hub in Rossio, linked to pharmaceutical companies, hospital groups, longevity hubs, and medical schools. Global remote work platforms choose Lisbon to install European hubs. Portuguese digital health, deep tech, and AI companies announce research clusters in Porto, Lisbon, and other cities.
Startup Portugal shows an ecosystem with more than five thousand startups, growing turnover, average salaries well above the national average and exports that already weigh on the country's balance. Municipalities in the interior sign protocols with entities such as Empowered Startups and higher education institutions, such as the Polytechnic of Santarém, to attract talent and investment outside the obvious centers.
Of course, it is not enough to add ads and believe that the rest happens by magic. The future will depend on our ability to align several pieces at the same time. Regulators who understand that the AI Act must protect without suffocating. Municipalities that simplify processes instead of complicating them. Schools and universities that train technology, but also for critical thinking, ethics, and citizenship. Companies that pay salaries that match the value created. Governments that think beyond the next electoral cycle.
Still, for the first time in a long time, it is possible to look at Portugal with a different confidence. The country is no longer just a beautiful scenery. It is a strategic asset. And, perhaps most importantly, it begins to be a place where a young person can imagine their future without assuming that they will have to leave.
Between submarine cables, AI gigafactories, health hubs, startups that export knowledge and a vibrant technological community, Portugal has a rare opportunity in front of it. To prove that a small country, with a memory of emigration and low wages, can reinvent itself as a place where the future is not only seen on television. You live. Here.