The Diplomat
Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa paid a visit to Madrid yesterday to greet His Majesty the King, as he begins his second five-year term in office after winning a landslide victory in the presidential elections on 24 January.
Rebelo de Sousa arrived in Spain from the Vatican, where he had been received yesterday by Pope Francis.
Felipe VI chose the Royal Palace to receive the Portuguese head of state, whom he greeted with affection, while maintaining the security measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. The First Vice-President of the Government, Carmen Calvo, was also present at the meeting.
Afterwards, accompanied by Queen Letizia, Don Felipe hosted a private dinner for Rebelo de Sousa, with whom he maintains a close relationship and a great friendship, as has been highlighted over the last five years. The Spanish monarch was present at Rebelo de Sousa’s first inauguration in 2016 and they have subsequently exchanged state visits.
In addition, the Portuguese President did not hesitate to travel to Barcelona to be with the King at the funeral held in the Sagrada Familia for the victims of the 2017 attacks in Barcelona. For his part, Don Felipe phoned Rebelo to express his moral support and offer him Spain’s help in extinguishing the dreadful fires that devastated Portugal in the summer of 2019.
In February 2019, Rebelo de Sousa came to Madrid to attend the presentation to the King of the World Peace and Freedom Prize, awarded by the World Association of Jurists. At that event, Felipe VI stated that he had attended the inauguration of the President of Portugal, who had been for him “an example of respect, dignity and excellence in the exercise of his high office”. And after pointing out that they are united by “the same convictions, friendship and affection”, he said that they both wish, “with respect for their own identity”, that “this friendship and affection, this closeness and these very close ties, will increasingly unite the Portuguese and Spanish peoples”.
