New Delhi: The President of Portugal H.E. Mr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was paid a State visit to India from 13-16 February 2020 on the invitation of the Hon’ble President of India. The President of Portugal was accompanied by Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Professor Augusto Santos Silva, Secretary of State for Internationalization, Professor Eurico Brilhante Dias and Secretary of State for National Defense, Mr. Jorge Seguro Sanches. This was the President Marcelo’s first visit to India; the last visit by a President of Portugal to India was in 2007.
During the visit, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 14 February 2020 followed by a visit to Rajghat. The delegation level talks were held with Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House followed by a lunch. The President of India met the visiting President on 14 February 2020 and host a banquet in the honour of the visiting President. Vice President of India was called on the visiting President. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was travelled to the states of Maharashtra and Goa during his visit.
India’s relations with Portugal are marked by warmth and friendship and have assumed dynamism in recent years. Recent high level political exchanges include the visit of Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Antonio Costa to India in Dec 2019 and that of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to Portugal in June 2017. The two countries have active and growing cooperation in the field of economy & business, science, culture and education. They share considerable convergences on international issues. The visit was provided an opportunity for the two sides to review progress in various sectors of bilateral relations and pursue new avenues of cooperation and exchange view on international issues of common interest.