TERCEIRA | Vice-President of the Government welcomes possibility for military personnel with families to return to Lajes Base

The Vice-President of the Regional Government, Artur Lima, welcomed the recent statements made by the commander of the US forces stationed at Lajes Base, Brian Hardeman, who mentioned the possibility that this infrastructure may soon accommodate US military personnel and their families.

Artur Lima highlighted that this announcement also results from the persistent efforts made in the context of the meetings of the Permanent Bilateral Commission between Portugal and the United States for the Azores to directly benefit from the American presence in the archipelago. 

According to the Vice-President, the return of two-year missions to the Lajes Base, with families accompanying the military personnel, is one of the few advantages for the island, generating tangible benefits in terms of wealth generation and development of the local economy.

Praising the efforts of Commander Brian Hardeman in this process, the government official recalled that the development of Terceira and the Azores is greatly due to the Lajes Base as well as the social, economic and cultural relations that have been established between the USA and the people of Terceira.

As the representative of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in the Permanent Bilateral Commission, Artur Lima pointed out that, besides this issue, there are other projects to be addressed by this strategic cooperation body, which he hopes will be implemented in the future. 

GRA/RÁDIOILHÉU