On 2 July, the AIR Centre hosted a meeting at its Lisbon office with the Comendador Anthony Bailey, Honourable Consul-General of His Majesty The King of Tonga to the Portuguese Republic. The discussion brought together AIR Centre Executive Director Miguel Miranda, Deputy Executive Director Mafalda Carapuço, and researcher Ana Faria, marking the beginning of a promising dialogue between the two nations.
The visit highlighted the shared commitment of Portugal and Tonga to ocean science, climate action and international cooperation. As the Kingdom of Tonga's first permanent diplomatic presence in Portugal, the Consulate‑General represents a growing relationship between the two ancient maritime countries, particularly in areas related to climate change and the oceans - both Atlantic and Pacific.
During the meeting, the AIR Centre presented some of its ongoing activities, including collaboration with Kenya on the non‑destructive identification and digital reconstruction of historic shipwrecks near the Kenyan coast, Sargassum monitoring efforts, ocean observation and modelling through its State of the Sea application currently active in Angola, Cabo Verde and Nigeria, and fish stock and aquaculture assessments in Angola and Cabo Verde. A central point highlighted in the presentation was that the AIR Centre's members' priorities guide the organisation’s actions and strategic direction.
The Consul‑General conveyed renewed enthusiasm from Tonga’s highest representatives for exploring how both nations can link, partner and cooperate across areas of common interest. The conversation also touched on potential synergies with a new body to be established and headquartered in Portugal, focused on Oceania and the Pacific. This initiative aims to amplify the voices of Pacific nations at an institutional level and serve as a platform for new partnerships and deeper engagement between Portugal and its autonomous archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira and the Pacific Islands region.
The meeting took place during a milestone year for Tonga, which is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of its Constitution, originally promulgated by King George Tupou I in 1875. As the oldest written constitution in the Pacific, it stands, together with its Constitutional Monarchy and parliamentary democracy as central symbols of Tonga’s unique history as the only indigenous nation in the South Pacific never to have lost its sovereignty or been colonised by a foreign power. Portugal and Tonga established diplomatic relations in 2008.
[PC, 9 July 2026]
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