President Klaus Iohannis begins a state visit to the Portuguese Republic

President Klaus Iohannis started this evening a state visit to the Portuguese Republic, at the invitation of his counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The field of defense is one of the most important in bilateral cooperation.

The visit to Portugal began this evening with the participation of President Klaus Iohannis, as a special guest, at the anniversary meeting of the Araiolos Group, hosted by the President of the Portuguese Republic, which will take place in Porto.

The meeting of the group marks 20 years since the beginning of this informal platform of consultation at presidential level between 16 states of the European Union.

The meeting will be attended, among others, by the presidents of Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary or Poland.

According to the Presidential Administration, the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, will deliver, as the main speaker, a presentation focused on the challenges facing the European Union in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Tomorrow, President Iohannis will be received by his Portuguese counterpart in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The state visit of President Klaus Iohannis to Portugal takes place in the context of an intense bilateral dialogue, following the visit of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to Romania, in December 2022.

There is close bilateral coordination between the two countries, within the European Union and NATO, which intensified in the context of the war in Ukraine.

On the agenda of the political consultations between the two heads of state, in addition to the intensification of cooperation in the field of defense, there will also be political-diplomatic and sectoral collaboration.

The situation of the Romanian community and its contribution to the development of Portuguese society will also be addressed.

Translated by: Radu Matei