The Legislators’ Dialogue is back for its 9th edition. The meeting organized by FLAD brings together annually, in Lisbon, Portuguese-American legislators elected at the federal and state levels from both parties, to make Portugal known and build bridges through contact with political, economic and social leaders of our country.

On June 30 and July 1, the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) will host a group of 20 Portuguese-American legislators elected at the federal and state levels in several American states, for the 9th edition of the Legislators’ Dialogue. The 2025 edition will be attended by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, Tiago Pitta e Cunha, Executive Director of the Oceano Azul Foundation, among others.

The community of Portuguese descent in the United States is one of the oldest, with more than a century of history and great diversity, very active in the defense of its historical and cultural heritage and with strong ties to Portugal. Currently, there are 52 legislators elected to the U.S. Congress and to several state senates with Portuguese ancestry, spread across the country: from California to Massachusetts, and even elected members in Hawaii.

Since 2015, FLAD has annually brought together Portuguese-American politicians elected at the federal and state levels, from both parties, to make Portugal known and build bridges through contact with political, economic and social leaders of our country, as well as to strengthen ties with and between political representatives who defend the interests of the Portuguese-American community in the USA. The Legislators’ Dialogue allows you to create a network between legislators from different states that cross paths here and to establish contacts in a bipartisan logic. The meeting, which takes place at FLAD in Lisbon, aims to bring together and strengthen relations between these Portuguese-American leaders and Portugal, in order to build bridges and find solutions to common challenges, and continue the path towards a stronger Portuguese-American community that is better able to defend its interests in the US.

The two-day program will feature working sessions dedicated to the ocean, the energy transition, the history of democracy in Portugal, and the presentation of the study “An American dream in Portuguese: Second generation and beyond”.