Official visit of Prime Minister of Portugal Mr. Antonio Costa to Athens (10-12 April 2016)

Following an invitation by the Prime Minister of Greece Mr. Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Portugal Mr. Antonio Costa paid an official visit to Athens on 10-12 April 2016. Mr. Costa was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Augusto Santos Silva and the Minister of Internal Affairs Mrs. Constanca Urbano de Sousa.

The Prime Minister of Portugal was received by the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. P. Pavlopoulos and had talks with his Greek counterpart on matters pertaining to the refugee crisis, the financial problems of Europe, the bilateral relations as well as major international issues. The two Prime Ministers signed a Joint Declaration, reaffirming the excellent level of bilateral relations and their commitments to further strengthen them in all fields, especially in trade and investments. They also expressed their commitment in enhancing their close cooperation within the framework of the European Union and other multilateral fora.

Foreign Minister Mr. Nikos Kotzias had talks with his Portuguese counterpart Mr. Augusto Santos Silva, aiming at deepening the economic and diplomatic relation and the bilateral cooperation of the two countries in all fields.

The Minister of Internal Affairs Mrs. Constanca Urbano de Sousa had talks with her Greek counterpart Mr. P. Kouroublis in order to examine the possibilities of realizing the offer of Portugal to take in refugees from Greece within the framework of the European process of relocation as well as bilaterally. The Portuguese Delegation visited also the Refugee Accommodation Center of Eleonas.

The official visit reaffirmed the excellent level of bilateral relations and broadened the perspectives for the development of the cooperation between the two countries in many domains.