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Ramaphosa hosts his Portuguese counterpart

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President Cyril Ramaphosa will today host the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa who is on a state visit to South Africa.

A welcoming ceremony for President De Sousa will be held on Tuesday morning at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.

The state visit to South Africa by the Portuguese president occurs in the same week that the European country celebrates its National Day on June 10.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa in SA on State Visit: Khayelihle Khumalo

Each year, the country’s head of state visits a different country to celebrate the Day of Portugal with the Portuguese Diaspora.

There are approximately 500 000 South Africans of Portuguese descent and about 200 000 Portuguese nationals who reside in South Africa permanently, serving as an important economic link between South Africa and Portugal.

In a statement, the Presidency says that bilateral relations between South Africa and Portugal remain strong, covering a wide range of areas of cooperation.

On this state visit, the two presidents will lead their respective delegations in official talks focusing on cooperation in agriculture, basic education, defence, the ocean economy, science and technology, tourism, and trade and investment.

Trade relations between the two countries are well established with South African exports in 2021 being valued at approximately R2.8 billion while imports from Portugal were approximately R4.6 billion in the same year.

Food constitutes about 50% of South African exports to Portugal.

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