The CDU questioned the Guimarães City Council about the meeting between President Ricardo Araújo and the Israeli ambassador, expressing concern about the association of Guimarães' name with Israeli government policy in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The communist elected officials want to know what political and ethical justifications supported the official reception to the ambassador.
The council had publicized the meeting as a moment dedicated to creating new collaboration opportunities between Guimarães and Israel, in the areas of innovation, technology, civil protection, human resources qualification and investment attraction, highlighting the installation at AvePark of TAG Medical Products Corporation, through TAGlobal Portugal.
The CDU also questions whether the City Council is willing to publicly distance itself from Israeli government policies and defend positions such as an immediate ceasefire and the end of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, as well as how the municipality intends to ensure that any agreements or partnerships do not conflict with international law.
With this formal question, the CDU joins the Left Block, the Socialist Youth and LIVRE in the group of political forces that have expressed public reservations about the meeting. So far, Ricardo Araújo has defended that he will continue to receive all ambassadors accredited in Portugal, considering the meeting part of the normal diplomatic and protocolar activity of the municipality.
