President Pellegrini Receives His First State Decoration in Portugal

Lisbon, 26 November (TASR-correspondent) - During his visit to Portugal on Wednesday, President Peter Pellegrini received his first state decoration in office from his counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, namely the highest class of Portuguese state decoration - the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry, reported a TASR correspondent. Pellegrini reciprocally presented the Portuguese president with Slovakia's highest civilian decoration, the Order of the Double White Cross, First class. This is the first state visit by a Slovak head of state to Portugal in 20 years. At the start of the visit, Rebelo de Sousa welcomed Pellegrini with an official ceremony with military honours in front of the Jeronimos Monastery, one of Portugal's most important monuments. The presidents then laid wreaths at the tomb of Portuguese writer Luis Vaz de Camoes and exchanged state decorations before holding talks at the Belem Presidential Palace. The Grand Collar of Prince Henry is part of an order introduced on 2 June 1960 in honour of Prince Henry the Navigator, an important figure from the era of Portuguese maritime discoveries. Other recipients of this award include, for example, Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar and former Polish President Andrzej Duda. On Wednesday, Pellegrini is also scheduled to meet Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, Parliament Speaker Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas, who will present the Slovak president with the Honorary Key to the City of Lisbon. In the evening, he'll attend a state dinner at the Ajuda National Palace. The state visit will continue on Thursday (27 November) with a Slovak-Portuguese business forum, which will be attended by both presidents. am/df