Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will pay an official visit to Portugal on Tuesday, March 3. During his visit, Davutoğlu will be hosted by Portuguese President Cavaco Silva and meet with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho later on. After his visit to the Lisbon Central Mosque, Davutoğlu will meet with representatives of the Muslim community and place a wreath at the monument erected in commemoration of martyred diplomats.
The last presidential-level contact between the two countries was the visit paid by former President Abdullah Gül on May 5-8, 2013. The last official visit between the two countries was paid by Portuguese Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas on Oct. 23-24, 2014.
Following the First Turkey-Portugal Intergovernmental Summit Meeting and signature ceremony of agreements, the two prime ministers will hold a press conference. Davutoğlu will head off to New York after giving a dinner in honor of Coelho. The previous inter-governmental summit was facilitated during Coelho's trip to Turkey on Dec. 17-19, 2012, in a document titled "Strategic Document for Strengthening Bilateral Relations Between Turkey and Portugal," which was signed by the then prime ministers of the two countries.
Turkey and Portugal enjoy friendly and seamless bilateral political relations. Turkey's increasing regional and strategic importance, especially in the energy field, attracts Portugal and encourages supporting Turkey's EU membership process. Portugal is among the countries that believe the EU accession of Turkey will further strengthen the Mediterranean dimension of the EU. In 2014, Turkey's exports to Portugal reached $446 million, while imports stood at $607 million. Additionally, Turkey was accepted as a common observer state for the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) Summit Meeting that took place in Dili, the capital of East Timor on July 23, 2014.
