New Delhi:
India and Portugal on Friday exchanged 14 agreements and understandings in a number of key areas, including maritime, intellectual property rights, aerospace and scientific research, as President Ram Nath Kovind hosted his Portuguese counterpart here.
Kovind received Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on his first state visit to India.
Kovind said Portugal-India relations are very special and the two countries enjoy 500 years of shared history.
“The two countries are closely tied together through Goa and Mumbai, through our culture, language and kinship,” he said.
Kovind thanked Portugal for extending its support for the commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
The president said the India-Portugal bilateral agenda has expanded several folds. The two countries are collaborating in science and technology, defence, education, innovation and start-up, water and environment among other things, he added.
Calling terrorism a grave threat to the entire world, Kovind said, “We should deepen our cooperation further to defeat and destroy this global menace.”
He also said that climate change was a pressing global challenge today and India looked forward to Portugal joining the International Solar Alliance in the near future.
The two presidents welcomed the exchange of agreements and understandings between India and Portugal in the fields of maritime heritage, maritime transport and port development, migration and mobility, start-ups, intellectual property rights, aerospace, nano-biotechnology, audio visual co-production, yoga, diplomatic training, scientific research and public policy.
Speaking on the occasion, Kovind said, “Our global partnership has added depth to our multilateral engagement and to our common desire to fashion a multi-polar world-order.”
“India looks forward to becoming an associate observer of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, so that we can amplify our developmental partnerships in Africa and elsewhere,” he added.
