The 33rd Iberian Summit kicked off today with military honors and the reception of delegations from the Portuguese and Spanish governments at Praça da República in Viana do Castelo.
The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa received his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez around 11 a.m. along with the mayor of Viana d Castelo, the also socialist Luís Nobre.
The two delegations, made up of 18 ministers from the two governments, then listened to the national anthems of Spain and Portugal, followed by a military ceremony and the presentation of members of the executive branch taking part in today’s summit.
Nine ministers from each government are in Viana do Castelo, with the portfolios of energy, environment, transport, public works, equality, internal governance, foreign affairs and territorial cohesion.
Dozens of people watched the summit’s formal opening ceremony in silence, after which the two prime ministers began a tour of the historic center of Viana de Castelo.
At the beginning of this tour — which lasted about 50 minutes, more than the 10 minutes originally planned for the program — Costa and Sánchez visited the Costume Museum in Praça da República.
At the door were several people waiting for the two prime ministers, some said that if the president of the republic visited the city, “there would be twice as many people”.
Outside the museum, on Rua de Manuel Espregueira, Costa and Sánchez waved and greeted people before entering the Natário confectionery, known for its Berlin balls.
“It is an honor to have the Prime Minister here” [português]and Spanish too, of course,” remarked one gentleman.
While the two prime ministers were in the confectionery, some activists from the Iberian Civic Forum rolled out a poster that read “For an Iberian alliance”, and they were quickly demobilized by the police, who led them to an area not on the list. path of Sanchez and the Costa.
Accompanied by the mayor of Viana do Castelo, Luís Nobre, the two chief executives then walked down Avenida dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra to Praça da Liberdade, where they unveiled a plaque referring to the 33rd Portuguese-Spanish summit.
Always surrounded by a strong security device, Costa and Sánchez took several photos and ‘selfies’ in the square before getting into the car that took them to Hotel Santa Luzia, where the 33rd Portuguese-Spanish Summit is taking place.
Upon arrival at the inn, Costa was asked if the “Berlin balls” from the Natário confectionery are good, and he replied: “Is this question still being asked?”.
Portugal and Spain meet today at an Iberian summit to deepen “excellent” and “intense” bilateral relations, promote cross-border strategy and publicly strengthen harmony within the European framework, as is the case with energy, the two governments said .
The 33rd Portuguese-Spanish Summit, in Viana do Castelo, is all about innovation, and for the summit’s formal opening, the two Prime Ministers, António Costa and Pedro Sánchez, visited the Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Braga, where they attended the conference. signing of an agreement between Portuguese and Spanish universities for the establishment of an Iberian laboratory in the field of food safety.
After the official opening ceremony at the Praça da República of Viana do Castelo and a guided tour by the two Prime Ministers through the historic center of Viana do Castelo, the summit will continue with working meetings and a plenary session.
Eventually, several agreements will be signed, in areas such as science, road links and cross-border cooperation in tourism, medical emergencies and culture.
The summit ends with a joint press conference by António e Costa and Pedro Sánchez.
Source: DN
