Portugal and Libya may sit on opposite sides of the Mediterranean world, but their histories have more in common than you might expect.
Long before modern borders, the Mediterranean connected North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula through trade, travel, and cultural exchange. Arab and Berber influences helped shape Portugal's language, agriculture, and architecture, leaving traces that remain visible today.
Of course, Portugal and Libya have followed very different historical paths. But geography has a funny way of reminding us that countries don't need to be neighbours to share a connection.
And perhaps that's a lesson worth remembering: empires come and go, borders change, but good relations are always worth building.
Should we make the Mediterranean a little smaller?
Portugal and Libya remind us that friendship isn't measured in kilometres. Sometimes, the best neighbours are the ones who aren't quite next door.