The President of the Republic warned this Saturday, March 28, of a “particularly demanding international context” due to the “re-emergence of high-intensity armed conflicts,” advocating for the need to strengthen and modernise the Portuguese Armed Forces while maintaining investment in social areas. António José Seguro highlighted that the world is going through “a period of profound changes” and warned of “political fragmentation,” the attempt to “hollow out multilateral organisations,” and the direct impacts of conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. These statements were made during the ceremony of the presentation of the Armed Forces to the new President of the Republic, which took place in the Liberdade garden in Santarém. Seguro believes that the war in Ukraine has “abruptly” changed the perception of collective security, requiring States to take “measures compatible with the mission of defence and safeguarding national sovereignty.”