In statements to the press at the end of a meeting, Paulo Rangel described the visit of the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Varsen Shahin, to Lisbon as "a historic moment," as it was the first after the recognition of Palestine by the Portuguese State, on 21 September of last year.

During the bilateral meeting, the two ministers agreed to "establish a joint commission that can deepen cooperation in several sectors," he said.

Varsen Shahin and Paulo Rangel signed two memoranda of understanding on regular political consultations between the two States and on training and information exchange for diplomats from both countries.

The Palestinian Minister, in turn, welcomed the signing of these memoranda.

“They will strengthen our political consultations and our cooperation in the field of diplomatic training. These are significant, not symbolic, steps that will bring our institutions closer together and open new avenues for practical cooperation,” he emphasised.

Rangel announced that Portugal will provide €250,000 to the Horizon Fund, a crowdfunding platform launched in July by the UN and the Palestinian Authority (in power in the West Bank), for the reconstruction of the occupied Palestinian territories, with a priority focus on the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025.

In the last three years, Portugal has supported the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with approximately €24 million and allocated €17 million to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), whose capacity to intervene in Gaza and the West Bank is severely limited by Israel.

Rangel took the opportunity to announce that the two Palestinian children who arrived in Portugal in August to receive medical treatment and prostheses – both of whom had a leg amputated – “are making a strong recovery.”

“A very positive note,” he emphasised, “as a symbol of what we hope the future can be for all the Palestinian people and also, of course, for the people of Israel, because a two-state solution is the only solution that guarantees not only the peaceful coexistence of both, but also the prosperity of both.”