In 2016 the Chamber was involved in setting up the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Portugal, when it was asked to be the Group’s Public Enquiry Point.
Ever since then, the Chamber has built valuable relationships with members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, many of whom are interested in Portugal and the other Lusophone countries.
The purpose of the APPG is to increase awareness amongst members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords about Portugal; and to encourage political, trade and business relations between the UK and Portugal.
Post Brexit, the APPG plays a vital role in connecting leading Portuguese companies with British politicians and senior British business people who have an interest in Portugal.
In recent years, the Chamber has organised regular events at the British Parliament. These have included Summer Receptions and private lunches inside the Houses of Parliament to enable senior members of the Chamber to meet members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords who have an interest in Portugal
The APPG has an exciting year ahead and, when circumstances allow in 2021, we plan to resume our series of live APPG events at the Houses of Parliament.
Several leading Conservative and Labour MPs, together with senior members of the House of Lords, have re-joined the APPG for 2021.
The current Chair of the APPG Portugal is Stephen Hammond MP, who is the Conservative MP for Wimbledon. Mr Hammond has held several government posts, among them Under Secretary of State for Transport, and Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.