Nuno Melo believes that investing in the Armed Forces is a matter of intelligence and pragmatic sanity.

The Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, said this Wednesday that investing in the Armed Forces in the current context “is a matter of intelligence and pragmatic clarity,” emphasizing that adding value to the armed forces must be “at the forefront of everything.”

“Investment in the Armed Forces seems obvious, since coming here is a matter of intelligence and pragmatic clarity, and it is also something that can give some meaning to my stay, which may be shorter or longer, I don’t know, the future will tell the Ministry of Defense,” – Nuno Melo says.

The centrist ruler spoke at the arrival ceremony of the Arpão submarine, which docked this Wednesday at the Lisbon naval base located in Almada, Setubal district, after completing a NATO surveillance mission in the North Atlantic and becoming the first Portuguese submarine to go under the Arctic ice.

Nuno Melo praised the feat of the garrison of about thirty soldiers who, after 78 days of service, were awarded, and stressed that “in this 21st century, close to the borders of the European Union in the NATO perimeter”, the world has witnessed “the beginning of an unacceptable war that is being generated “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for conquest purposes, medieval violence, in violation of international law, to which is added and added the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and the emergence of new powers that challenge the traditional world order.”

“Let no one doubt this: geopolitical and global changes test the strength of democratic and free allies every day. In this context, as we celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary, we must have a memory and a sense of priorities, starting with this proof: NATO won the so-called “Cold War without the use of weapons” because over time it became politically and operationally strong,” the minister emphasized .

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Nuno Melo was asked about Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel’s statements that Portugal needs to catch up to meet the target of spending 2% of GDP on defense by 2030, and will present the plan to the organization’s July summit in Washington.

Melo did not specify the plan in question, only emphasizing that Portugal would take “steps to gradually, taking into account budgetary conditions, fulfill this commitment to NATO.”

However, the government official emphasized that the military should be “at the forefront” of investment in defense.

“Because without military personnel in all branches, submarines cannot sail, airplanes cannot take off, and the army also cannot operate its equipment. The priority should be to provide the best conditions necessary for the recruitment and retention of military personnel in the Armed Forces, and this will be the first step, and then everything else,” he said.

Nuno Melo recalled that since 2009 the military has had no salary updates, and “although other regions also have sovereignty, but not only, over time, for better or worse, they have become aware of these updates and rightly claim that, in their opinion, is their yes, the Armed Forces for the most part also have the right to say: “now our time has come.”

The minister said he would “soon” present the measures he plans to implement to enhance military careers after insisting moments ago in front of the soldiers who were listening to him that “the time has come to place the Armed Forces at the center of the concerns of political power and the Portuguese people.”

“Always respectful of budgetary opportunities,” the minister assured that he would fight “for possible answers that will enhance the dignity of the Armed Forces, increase the value of ex-combatants, update incentives for recruiting and retaining military personnel, productive and technological training of the defense industry or strategic strengthening of international missions,” among other goals.