The bilateral relationship between Portugal and Ireland is historical. The countries share common geographical traits (since both belong to Atlantic Europe), ancestry (common Celtic past), and religion (Catholicism), which over the centuries contributed to building and upholding strong ties between the Portuguese and the Irish.
Being part of the European Community is the central axis of the relationship between the two countries, but even in the medieval times, there was an increase firstly in trade between the Iberian and the Irish ports, and secondly, in the number of travelers.The interchange also extended to cultural, religious and intellectual fields, since in the 16th to 18thcenturies, the Irish went to study at the University of Évora, Coimbra and Lisbon. The closeness between the two nations only got stronger, when several distinct Irish families settled down in Portugal, mainly throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
Regarding politics and diplomacy, the first Irish delegation opened up in 1942 in Lisbon, and Portugal followed this significant institutional step, doing likewise, in the beginning of the following decade.
Nowadays, the convergence of interests between the two countries is particularly embodied in the EU as in sharing values, expectations and common aspirations. Being part of the Eurozone, Portugal and Ireland both faced the same challenge not so long ago, when they had to overcome a financial crisis that heavily affected their economy.
Multicargo is aware of all the above, and focuses its efforts on the Irish market, as an important export partner. Our long-term partnership with freight forwarder Lanigan International Freight Ltd. in Dublin stands as proof of this.
The testimonial of Lanigan International Freight:
‘The collaboration between my father Bob Lanigan and Paulo Ferreira started over 15 years ago, when they were introduced to each other through one of our business partners. In these years, we have jointly worked on exploring and developing the trade between Ireland and Portugal to the maximum.
I still remember how we started off… a few pallets of LCL traffic a week! Now in 2016 we have two to three 45ft FCLs on a weekly basis. We have come a long way since then!
Naturally such an evolution can only be possible when both parties take their time and invest their efforts and knowledge into making a cooperation successful.
Throughout the years, Lanigan International Freight has received Multicargo several times in Ireland and vice versa. Our philosophy of getting to know your partner better in order to generate more business has definitely paid off.
At Lanigan we are proud to have Multicargo as a partner. Experience, professionalism and a personal touch go a long way!
We look forward to a long and fruitful cooperation with our Portuguese partners.’
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Rui Pinto is the COO of Multicargo, supervising all the day-to-day operations of the company and contributing to the development of new services and solutions, customized to the clients’ needs. He has been an employee of Multicargo since its establishment in 2010.
