Lisbon, April 7 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu visited the Church of Santa Maria and laid wreath at the tomb of Luis Vaz de Camoes – the national poet of Portugal – as she began her State Visit to Portugal on Monday. President Murmu also visited the Monastery of Jeronimos – a masterpiece of 16th-century architecture in Portugal. Earlier in the day, President Murmu was received by Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the historic Praca do Imperio in Lisbon and accorded a ceremonial welcome with the Guard of Honour. President Murmu is paying a State Visit to Portugal from April 7-8 at the invitation of Marcelo Rebelo de Sous.

"President Murmu's trip to Portugal testifies to the fundamental importance of the partnership between Portugal and India, and will contribute to the continued strengthening of the very close relations between the two countries," read a statement issued by the Portugal President's office. President Murmu is on historic State visits to Portugal and the Slovak Republic -- the first State visits to either country by the President of India in more than 25 years. The visits will further expand India's multifaceted engagement with two important European Union partners.

India and Portugal are expected to strengthen longstanding historical ties, very strong diaspora links and unique cultural linkages during President Droupadi Murmu's State Visit to the country. The visit to Portugal is taking place after a gap of 27 years and comes as India and Portugal are celebrating 50 years of re-establishment of diplomatic relations. The last State Visit took place in 1998 when President K. R. Narayanan visited Portugal. "It is a very symbolic and landmark visit... In fact, President Sousa had visited India in 2020. A year earlier, in 2019, Prime Minister Antonio Costa had visited India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Portugal in 2017, and also earlier, Prime Minister Costa had visited India in 2017 also. So if we just see the last few years, there has been a very, very high-level exchange of visits between India and Portugal, and that shows the degree of high-level engagement that is ongoing between our two countries," said Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) ahead of President Murmu's departure.

India and Portugal share historic and friendly bilateral ties which have evolved over the years into a modern, multifaceted, and dynamic partnership, characterised by robust growth and expansion across several areas of cooperation. The visit will provide further impetus and renewed momentum to India's growing relations with Portugal. Besides meeting and holding delegation-level talks with her counterpart President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President Murmu will also hold discussions with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luis Montenegro and the President of the National Assembly (Parliament), Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco.

"Another dimension of the India-Portugal relationship is the India-EU partnership, and there again the India-Portugal relationship adds to the strength of the India-EU relationship. It is worth noting that during the Portuguese Presidency of the EU in the year 2000, the first India-EU summit had been hosted by Portugal. And also in 2021, the first ever India-EU Leaders' Summit was hosted under Portuguese Presidency. So this relationship has an important role in strengthening the strategic partnership between India and EU," mentioned Secretary Lal.

Portugal was also the first country in Europe with whom India had signed a Migration and Mobility Agreement. "If you look at the business ties, the trade is of the order of US$ 1.5 billion, and it has been growing steadily. There has been a 50 per cent growth during the last five years. Range of areas of cooperation include renewable energy, IT, pharmaceuticals, education, tourism and defence. One more dimension at the multilateral and regional level is the association with the CPLP, which is the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, which has nine members, and India is an associate member in the CPLP," the senior diplomat remarked.

From Portugal, President Murmu will travel to Slovakia on what would be the first visit by the President of India to the country in 29 years. During the April 9-10 visit, President Murmu will hold discussions with Slovakia President Peter Pellegrini and Prime Minister Robert Fico. President Murmu will also meet the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Richard Rasi.

/IANS