Chilean president starts two-day visit to Portugal

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet started her two-day state visit to Portugal in Evora, around 150 km east of Lisbon, on Thursday.

Bachelet was received by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday and awarded a Doctor honoris-causa title at the University of Evora, where she was given full military honors.

At a press conference, Bachelet praised the development of bilateral economic ties of the two countries.

"We have observed a growing interest on behalf of the Portuguese to invest in our country, in sectors so diverse as energy, services and agribusiness," said the Chilean president.

She said Chile hopes to increase trade with Portugal.

"Chilean companies are also willing to invest not only in the service sector, but also in the agribusiness," said Bachelet.

The Chilean president also mentioned the "common challenges" facing both Chile and Portugal in political, economical, cultural and cooperation fronts, and said both countries shared visions in different areas including democracy, human rights and trade liberalization.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highlighted Chile and Portugal's excellent bilateral relations and noted that Chile was Portugal's third economic partner in Latin America.

According to the Portuguese president, Bachelet's visit was an opportunity to reinforce these relations.

He said both countries had collaboration in areas including civil protection, technology, science, education and defence, and pointed out that all big Portuguese companies were in Chile.

On Friday, Bachelet will meet Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, visit the parliament, and preside a bilateral trade conference in Lisbon. Enditem