President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with President of the Republic of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is on a visit to our country.
Welcoming his colleague, the Head of State noted that it was the first visit of the President of Portugal to our country in 25 years and it was symbolic that it took place on National Flag Day and Independence Day of Ukraine. Yesterday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa took part in the 3rd Crimea Platform Summit in Kyiv and today he spoke in Ukrainian at the Independence Day celebrations in St. Sophia Square.
"I thank you, Mr. President, for these very important manifestations of support for our state, our people and our Ukrainian independence," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
During the negotiations, the two leaders focused on defense and security cooperation. The President of Ukraine informed his counterpart about the situation on the battlefield and the defense needs of our country.
"Portugal is a member of our tank and aviation coalitions. Today, Portugal has confirmed its readiness to join the training of Ukrainian pilots and engineers on F-16 jets," the Head of State said.
They also discussed opportunities for expanding defense cooperation, including the supply of armored medical vehicles and demining equipment to Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine emphasized the importance of Portugal's accession to the Joint Declaration of the G7 on security guarantees for our country.
"We are looking forward to working bilaterally with Portugal on the relevant bilateral document," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The Head of State also thanked Portugal for supporting the Peace Formula and joining the common work with partners. He invited Portugal to take part in the Global Peace Summit.
In addition, the Presidents of Ukraine and Portugal discussed the initiatives for the Ukraine-Latin America and Ukraine-Africa Summits. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that our state counts on the support of these initiatives from Portugal and personally from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The Heads of State also plan to discuss further involvement of Portugal in the reconstruction of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the Republic of Portugal had started implementing projects to restore educational institutions in Zhytomyr region.
"We count on more powerful, systematic work and systematic agreement on reconstruction between our states," he said.
The Head of State emphasized that Portugal consistently supports Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, for his part, said that his country has never recognized the annexation of Crimea and supports Ukraine at all levels and will do so as long as necessary to achieve peace, as the consequences of this war affect many people around the world.
He also stated that Portugal is taking part in the reconstruction of cities destroyed by Russia and assured that Portuguese companies will intensify their work in Ukraine.
