Today the Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 2/2026, dated 8 January, was published in the Portuguese Official Gazette (Diário da República), approving the National Artificial Intelligence Agenda (NAIA) and its corresponding governance model.
The establishment of the NAIA was one of sixteen initiatives set out under the National Digital Strategy in 2024, the need for which was further reinforced in the Programme of the XXV Constitutional Government.
Its core objective is to increase the productivity of Portuguese workers by 2030, enabling convergence with the European average, in a context in which Portugal currently represents only 75% of the European Union’s average productivity.
To this end, the NAIA is expressly governed by six guiding principles:
(i) Responsible innovation;
(ii) Focus on strategic priorities;
(iii) The State as a catalyst;
(iv) More than technology;
(v) Product-oriented Artificial Intelligence (AI);
(vi) Building on what already works and ensuring continuous evaluation.
Incorporating these principles, the NAIA is structured around four strategic pillars that frame public intervention (Annex I):
(i) Infrastructure and Data – To multiply national computing capacity and data maturity by 2030 and to implement a data policy accessible to companies, startups and the State;
(ii) Innovation and Adoption – To exponentially increase AI adoption in Portugal, with a focus on SMEs and with Public Administration acting as a catalyst, while promoting continuity and collaboration within the scientific research ecosystem, strengthening fundamental research and creating sectoral AI centres to accelerate adoption and knowledge transfer between universities, companies (including startups) and Public Administration;
(iii) Talent and Skills – To strengthen the training, retention and continuous upskilling of the Portuguese workforce, using AI as a driver of professional valorisation, with more qualified careers, more competitive remuneration and a genuine capacity to attract, retain and develop talent, ensuring that technological transformation translates into economic progress and opportunities for all;
(iv) Responsibility and Ethics – To protect and reinforce fundamental research in AI ethics, safety and social impact, promoting genuinely interdisciplinary approaches involving knowledge from multiple fields, including the social sciences and humanities;
For each of the pillars described above, the Council of Ministers approved a NAIA Action Plan for the 2026–2030 five-year period (Annex II), setting out a package of initiatives to be implemented over that timeframe, namely:
(i) Establish a Gigafactory in Portugal;
(ii) Funding of multidisciplinary, sector-specific AI Centers for strategic sectors;
(iii) Responsible AI startup acceleration program;
(iv) Definition of regulatory Sandboxes.
Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 2/2026, of 8 January, entered into force on the day following its publication, on 9 January 2026.
