LISBON: Czech President Milos Zeman left yesterday for a state visit to Portugal during which he is scheduled to meet his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo de Sousa, visit the parliament and open an exhibition on King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor Charles IV, who was born 700 years ago. Zeman is accompanied by a delegation of about 20 businesspeople and Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Vladimir Bartl. On Thursday, Zeman will attend a Czech-Portuguese business forum. He will end the visit on the same day.
The previous official visit by a Czech president took place during the term of Vaclav Klaus in 2004. Six years later, former Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva paid a state visit to the Czech Republic. Zeman’s programme begins on Wednesday morning with a visit to the Hieronymites Monastery in Lisbon. Together with Marcelo de Sousa, he will lay a wreath to the tomb of the most famous Portuguese poet, Luise de Camoes (1524-80).
After a luncheon with Foreign Minister Augusto Silva, Zeman will visit the Carmelite Convent, where Maria Anna of Austria, Queen consort of Portugal in the 18th century, who was a daughter of Czech King and Roman Emperor Leopold I, is buried. On Thursday, Zeman will meet Eduardo Rodrigues, president of the one-chamber parliament, and attend the Czech-Portuguese business forum. Portuguese Economy Minister Manuel Cabral will be a speaker at the forum. In the evening, Zeman will open the Charles IV exhibition at St George’s Castle in Lisbon and leave back for Prague.
The aim of the business delegation headed by Stanislav Kazecky, vice-president of the Confederation of Industry, is to promote bilateral trade and investments which are relatively low. The businesspeople will seek Portugal’s support for the Czech application for observer status in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), in which Portugal and Brazil play the leading roles. The community of nine countries embraces more than 250 million inhabitants. The Czech Republic exports goods for a total of about 22 billion crowns to the countries.
The Czech Republic has long had a surplus in trade with Portugal. Last year, it exported goods worth 477.5 million euros and imported goods worth 376.4 million euros. The Czech Republic mainly exports cars and component parts and radio navigation devices to Portugal and it mostly imports tobacco, electronics and medicines.
