The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, said that the Azorean base Lajes is an “essential” place from a geo-strategical point of view and regrets not having found any solution for the Lajes Air Base.
The United States announced a year ago that it would reduce its military presence there, but the process has not yet completed. “The Lajes base is not just a regional issue, it is an essential question from a geo-strategical point of view and I think I can convince our American friends the same,” said the minister.
Portugal has insisted, with the US authorities, that this is “a year to find alternative uses to those the base has today.” One potential use for the site would be for the installation of a new intelligence center. The minister insisted that it’s imperative to find “alternative uses for the economic and social development of the Azores.”
