Tuesday morning saw the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg arrive in Portugal for the start of a three day state visit. The point of this trip is to strengthen ties with the already close nations.
Presidencia.pt
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were first greeted at a Lisbon military airport by Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Amado, who took them to Monastery of Jeronimos for their first engagement in Portugal. There, the Grand Duke laid a wreath on the tomb of Luís Vaz de Camões, the most famous poet of Portugal.
After that came the official welcoming ceremony at Belem Palace by President Anibal Cavaco Silva and his wife, Maria. Following the playing of the national anthems and reviewing the honor guard, the Silvas took the grand ducal couple inside for brief talks and a lunch.
During that, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who was part of the delegation for this visit, had talks with Luis Amado. On the agenda of the discussion appeared mainly to be about current European and international policy, preparation of the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, as well as bilateral relations.
At the same time, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Jeannot Krecke, took the opportunity to meet with his counterpart Jose Vieira da Silva on themes of economic and financial news.
Later on, the Grand Duke and the President held a joint news conference where they told reporters about the close bond Luxembourg and Portugal have.
EPA/Manuel Almeida
“The element of closer association between the two countries is the Portuguese community in Luxembourg, a community of more than 80,000 citizens, representing a high percentage of active population of Luxembourg, which contributes significantly to the economic and social development of the country host,” said Silva.
President Silva mentioned that among the topics he discussed with Henri was bringing the Portuguese language into the Luxembourg education system.
“The two countries have been talking to strengthen this possibility be learned from the Portuguese in Luxembourg and the normal progress has been made in this direction,” he noted.
Silva also highlighted how this state visit will bring about economic discussions and regulations. “Luxembourg is a major investor in Portugal and hopefully in the future entrepreneurs Luxembourg continue to look and look further into the opportunities offered here in our country,” added the President, noting that during the Grand Duke’s visit will lead to a signing of a protocol on the double-taxation and combating tax evasion.
Grand Duke Henri took the time during the conference to talk about his Portuguese heritage and thanked the country for providing for his grandmother and his parents when World War II broke out.
Following the press conference, Grand Duke Henri had the opportunity to meet with the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Jaime Gama, and other members of Portugal’s political scene.
Tuesday evening saw a gala dinner in honor of the grand ducal couple.
Over the next two days, there will be tours of Lisbon and the Portuguese coast, talks with the Prime Minister, visits to child care services that treat young children with AIDS, discussions of technology and microfinance, and a visit to Portugal’s oldest university.
Source: Jornal de Noticias, Gouvernement.lu
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