The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, continues his three-day state visit to Belgium this Wednesday, with one day divided between Namur, in the Wallonia region, and Brussels.
The Head of State arrived in Belgium on Monday, the day there was an armed attack in the Belgian capital in which two people died, forcing some adjustments to the program for the first day of his state visit, on Tuesday.
This Wednesday’s program, unchanged, begins with a visit to the University of Namur, followed by lunch at the Governor’s Palace of this province, in the Wallonia region.
In the afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will travel to the Free University of Brussels and will meet again at the end of the day with Kings Felipe and Matilda at a fado concert at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, in exchange for the banquet. They offered him a fair on Tuesday.
He is accompanied on this trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, and deputies from the six parties with parliamentary groups: Marta Temido, from the PS, Gabriela Fonseca, from the PSD, Rui Paulo Sousa, from Chega, Joana Cordeiro, from the Liberal Initiative , Alfredo Maia, of the PCP, and Pedro Filipe Soares, parliamentary leader of the Left Bloc.
On Tuesday, in addition to the Belgian kings, the President of the Republic met with representatives of the two chambers of the federal Parliament and with the president of the Brussels City Council.
Due to the internal security situation, the meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister was cancelled.
On the last day of this state visit to Belgium, Thursday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will travel to the region of Flanders.
According to the Emigration Observatory, in 2022 there will be around 50,000 people of Portuguese nationality residing in Belgium.
Jorge Sampaio was the last Portuguese president to make a state visit to Belgium, also lasting three days, in October 2005. As Head of State, Aníbal Cavaco Silva was in Belgium twice, in September 2007 and June 2013, but on visits to European institutions. .
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the European institutions in Brussels in March 2017, when he was received by the kings of Belgium.
In October 2018, at their invitation, the kings of Belgium made a state visit to Portugal.
At that time, upon receiving them at the Belém Palace, the President of the Republic referred to Portugal and Belgium as two “close allies” and “friends” countries, in the European Union, the United Nations and NATO, with a ” common role” “For peace at a global level.
Source: TSF
