The Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa will be meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday in London. The two politicians will close a political deal that regulates relations between the two countries post-Brexit.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Joao Gomes Cravinho said that “an agreement between the two countries is being prepared, focused on the areas of defense, external politics, science, higher education, and climate change, particularly in relation to the ocean”.
On Saturday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was present at the Portuguese Embassy in London. When asked about Portugal and the United Kingdom closing a bilateral deal on commercial relations, the President of Portugal said this was possible. He said that such a deal “was already being prepared by the last government under the same Prime Minister. If it does not go against the European Union, each member state is free to build bilateral relations”.
While the two countries’ commercial relations are predominantly regulated by the Brexit agreement, these can be specified by the two Prime Ministers if they respect the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
Antonio Costa’s meeting with Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street is foreseen to take place at 1 pm on Monday.
The Portuguese Prime Minister had to cancel his schedule last week for health reasons, leading him to miss the celebrations of the Day of Portugal. He is now ready to resume his schedule.
Fun fact: the Anglo-Portuguese alliance is the oldest alliance in history. The alliance was ratified at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Portugal. Historically, the two kingdoms, as well as the modern Portuguese Republic and the United Kingdom have never fought a war against each other and have never participated in a war on opposite sides, since signing the treaty.