President Higgins begins four-day State visit to Portugal

President Michael D Higgins begins a four-day State visit to Portugal on Wednesday, his first State visit to the country since assuming office in 2011.

Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina arrived in Lisbon from Baldonnel on Tuesday where they were greeted by Orla Tunney, Ireland's ambassador to Portugal and Bernardo Futscher Pereira, the Portuguese ambassador to Ireland.

Mr Higgins will partake in a number of political engagements over the coming days, including meetings with the Portuguese president Cavaco Silva and the recently-appointed prime minister Antonio Santos da Costa. A State dinner in honour of Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina will be hosted by Mr Cavaco Silva this evening at Ajuda Palace in the capital.

Mr Higgins will also visit the Monastery of Jeronimos, a late-fifteenth century monastery and Unesco World Heritage Site, where he will lay a wreath at the tomb of Luis de Camoes, the 16th century Portuguese poet.

On Thursday he will meet with Irish Dominican sisters at the convent of Bom Sucesso.

The State visit to Portugal is only the fourth State visit made by President Higgins since assuming office. Previous state visits were to China, the UK and Croatia.

The last State visit to Portgual was by former president Mary McAleese in 2002.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs James Reilly is accompanying Mr Higgins on the four-day trip.

A number of meetings with the business community are also scheduled, with Mr Higgins due to attend a business lunch organised by the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia in Lisbon on Thursday, which will be attended by business leaders.

On Friday, the President travels to Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto, in the north west of the country where he will meet with the Mayor of Porto and a number of Enterprise Ireland-client companies.

Portugal, a country of 10 million people, recently elected a left-wing government led by the main Socialist Party following general elections in October. Like Ireland, the country took part in a three-year multi-billion euro bailout at the height of the euro zone crisis, but emerged from its bailout programme in May 2014.

Mr Higgins is due to meet with leaders of the country’s various parliamentary groups and the chair of the EU Affairs committee when he visits Sao Bento Palace, the seat of the National Parliament on Thursday.