Today a very different reality is beginning to take shape. If the forecasts presented by the United States ambassador to Portugal, John Arrigo, come true, the country could receive more than $40 billion in US technological investment by 2031, becoming one of the main European infrastructure centers for artificial intelligence.

The announcement was made during the ceremony that marked the connection of Google's new Cloud submarine cable between the United States and Portugal. But the most important thing is not just the cable. It is to understand the ecosystem that is beginning to form around it. Portugal currently has more than 2.6 GW of data center capacity under development, with Sines taking a central position through projects such as Start Campus. This is joined by new investments in energy, digital networks, artificial intelligence and critical infrastructure. The United States is already one of the largest foreign investors in our country, with almost 20 billion dollars invested in different sectors.

It is difficult to ignore the scale of the opportunity. Portugal brings together a particularly interesting combination: Atlantic position, direct connection to the United States, high renewable energy production, stability, security, qualified talent and full integration into the European market. What for decades we have considered a peripheral location can become a strategic advantage. In the digital economy, being at the western edge of Europe also means being at the forefront of the transatlantic connection.

But $40 billion announced or planned is not yet $40 billion invested. And this is where we must maintain some critical sense. Portugal remains too slow in licensing, administrative decisions, strengthening electricity grids and preparing territories to receive investments of this size. Data centers do not just need land and electricity. They need housing for workers, transport, schools, services, vocational training and cities capable of keeping up with the economic growth they generate.

We also need to ensure that Portugal does not simply become a huge platform where international companies install servers. The real value will be in creating knowledge, Portuguese companies, research, engineering and highly qualified jobs around these infrastructures. Otherwise, we will have investment without being able to capture a sufficient part of the wealth created.

A few years ago it would have been difficult to imagine Portugal as a potential European center of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Today this possibility is real.

We have location, energy, connectivity and talent. We also have interested investors.

What remains to be proven is perhaps what remains our biggest challenge: whether we can turn an extraordinary opportunity into execution, growth and prosperity for the country.