Portugal to recognize a Palestinian state

20/9/2025 7:24

Portugal will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.



The Official Declaration of Recognition will take place even before next week's High-Level Conference, it added.



Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel already said this week that the country was considering the recognisition of a Palestinian state during a visit to the UK.



Unlike neighbouring Spain, whose leftist government recognised Palestinian statehood in May 2024 alongside Ireland and Norway and called on other EU countries to do the same, Portugal has taken a more cautious approach, saying it wanted to work out a common position with other EU countries first.



Only a handful of the 27 European Union members recognise Palestine as a State, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.