The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Felipe VI of Spain met this Sunday with lunch lasting about two hours in Brasília, ahead of Lula da Silva’s inauguration as Brazil’s president.
The two heads of state met at a hotel in the Brazilian capital, where they spent a few minutes strolling along Lake Paranoá before having lunch.
The lunch ended shortly before Lula da Silva’s inauguration ceremony as President of Brazil, which will be attended by the Spanish monarch and the Portuguese president.
Felipe VI, crowned King on 19 June 2014, following the abdication of his father, Juan Carlos, attended the inauguration ceremony of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as President of the Republic on 9 March 2016 in Lisbon.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s first trips as head of state were to the Vatican and Madrid, both on March 17, 2016, and at the start of his second term in office, he repeated these destinations on March 12, 2021.
His relationship with the Spanish monarch remained close, with frequent contacts and meetings. In the first two years of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s term alone, the two heads of state met ten times.
The kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, were in Portugal between 28 and 30 November 2016 for a state visit, with visits to Porto, Guimarães and Lisbon.
In turn, the President of the Republic made a state visit to Spain in April 2018, divided between Madrid and Salamanca, always accompanied by King Felipe VI.
Arriving in Brasilia on Friday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he had not seen Felipe VI “in a long time”.
“We always met three, four times a year, this year we have not met since May, it was not possible. We are going to have a very good meeting lunch for both countries,” he stated.
Source: DN
