President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived in New Delhi today on a four-day visit to India. Minister for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya received him at the airport.

The President of Portugal is 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 Jorge Seguro Sanches. This is 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 will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow followed by a visit to Rajghat. The delegation-level talks will be held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House. The visiting President will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan who will host a banquet in his honour. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will call on the visiting dignitary. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will also travel to 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 Antonio Costa to India in December last year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Portugal in June 2017.

The two countries have active and growing cooperation in the field of economy and business, science, culture and education. They share considerable convergences on international issues. The visit will provide an opportunity for the two sides to review progress in various sectors of bilateral relations and pursue new avenues of cooperation and exchange views on international issues of common interest.