State Visit of Michael D. Higgins to Portugal
President Michael D. Higgins made a State Visit to Portugal from the 8th to the 12th December 2015, at the invitation of the President of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The President was accompanied by Sabina Higgins. This is the first State Visit to Portugal since the visit of President McAleese in 2002.
On Wednesday, 9th December, the President laid a wreath at the tomb of poet Luís de Camões, at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, before proceeding to an Official Welcome Ceremony at the Belém Palace where the President and Sabina Higgins were formally received by President Cavaco Silva and his wife, Doutora Maria Cavaco Silva.
The President then met with Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Luís Santos da Costa.
The President and Sabina Higgins visited Lisbon’s City Hall that afternoon, where they were welcomed by the Mayor, who will presented the President with the keys of the city.
The President and Sabina Higgins were guests of honour that evening at a State Dinner hosted by President Cavaco Silva and Doutora Maria Cavaco Silva.
On Thursday, 10th December, the President and Sabina Higgins visited the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), before being guests of honour at a business lunch hosted by the Embassy of Ireland in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and IDA Ireland.
President Higgins was then welcomed to Portugal’s Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic. The President and Sabina Higgins will also visited the Convent of Bom Sucesso, home to Irish Dominican Sisters for close to four hundred years.
That evening, the President and Sabina Higgins will welcomed President Cavaco Silva and Maria Cavaco Silva as their guests of honour to a performance of Irish poetry and music presented by Culture Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
On Friday, 11th December, the President and Sabina Higgins visited Porto, the second largest city in Portugal where their programme included an official welcome ceremony and lunch hosted by Porto’s Mayor, Rui Moreira.
They visited CEiiA, a Portuguese not-for-profit engaged in innovation and research in the transport sector, and met there with CEiiA and Enterprise Ireland client companies engaged in a networking event. That afternoon, the President and Sabina Higgins visited Porto’s historic centre which has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.