Australia, Canada, and Britain, Portugal officially recognizes the State of Palestine

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel announced on Sunday evening that his country has officially decided to recognize the State of Palestine, joining a growing list of countries declaring their recognition of the Palestinian state.

Rangel stated that Portugal supports the two-state solution as the only way to achieve lasting peace.

Commenting on the decision, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Portugal’s recognition of the State of Palestine is a courageous decision that is consistent with international law and UN resolutions and supports efforts to achieve peace and implement the two-state solution.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We welcome the Portuguese Republic’s recognition of the State of Palestine, and consider it a courageous decision that is consistent with international law and United Nations resolutions and supports efforts to achieve peace and implement the two-state solution”.

The statement added, “The Ministry, while thanking Portugal’s president, government, and people, affirms the State of Palestine’s commitment to building stronger and more robust bilateral relations with Portugal and enhancing joint coordination in all areas”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on countries that have not yet recognized the initiative to recognize the State of Palestine, in order to protect the two-state solution, to actively engage in international efforts to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities, protect civilians, and open a political negotiation process to end the occupation and enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination, as other peoples of the world do, in accordance with the New York Declaration, the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, and international law, in a manner that achieves security, stability, and prosperity for the countries and peoples of the region.

Australia, Canada, and Britain had earlier announced on Sunday their official recognition of the State of Palestine.

This comes on the eve of the resumption of the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution, led by Saudi Arabia and France.

Attention is now focused on 10 countries that have announced their intention to recognize the State of Palestine, bringing the number of countries recognizing the State of Palestine to 159 out of 193 UN member states.