The President of the Portuguese Republic will be officially welcomed by LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess in the forecourt of the Grand Ducal Palace. After the military honors, the interpretation of the national anthems, the review of the troops and the presentation of the respective delegations, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will have an interview with the Grand-Ducal couple and the grand ducal couple heir to the palace.
The deputation of a wreath at the national monument of Luxembourg Solidarity, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Minister of State Xavier Bettel, Secretary of State for Defense Francine Closener and the Chief of Staff- Major General of the Army, General Romain Mancinelli, is also scheduled. Then, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will greet the flag bearers, members of the Second World War Memorial Committee and representatives of patriotic movements and associations.
A tour of the Grand-Ducal couple and the Portuguese Head of State on the Corniche is also on the agenda. They will have the opportunity to discover the ancient fortifications of the city of Luxembourg.
The President of the Portuguese Republic as well as the Grand-Ducal couple and the Grand-Ducal heir will have the opportunity to continue their talks during a private lunch at the Grand Ducal Palace. Meanwhile, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo, will meet Portuguese MPs, and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Jean Asselborn, State Secretaries Margarida Marques and José Luís Carneiro.
Subsequently, the Portuguese Head of State will receive in audience at the Grand Ducal Palace the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo, Prime Minister, Minister of State Xavier Bettel and the Minister of Foreign Affairs And European, Jean Asselborn.
In the early afternoon, the Portuguese Head of State as well as LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess will be welcomed at the Cercle Cité in Luxembourg by Bourgmestre Lydie Polfer for an academic session in the presence of the Echevinal College and the Communal Council.
A gala dinner hosted by LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess at the Grand Ducal Palace in honor of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the presence of LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess in heir, will close this first day of the state visit.
The President of the Portuguese Republic and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke will visit the castle of Betzdorf, the headquarters of SES, where they will be welcomed by the Prime Minister, Minister of State, Minister for Communications and Media, Xavier Bettel, The Board of Directors of SES, Romain Bausch, the vice-presidents of the board of directors, François Tesch and Jean-Paul Zens, as well as the chairman and CEO, Karim Michel Sabbagh.
Marcello Rebelo de Sousa, accompanied by Prime Minister, Minister of Communications and Media Xavier Bettel and Post Luxembourg CEO Claude Strasser and Chief Information Officer Pierre Zimmer will visit the EBRC Datacenter In Betzdorf, specialising in the management of trust services for clients in various sectors, such as banking, finance, insurance and e-commerce.
The Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, will then have the honour of welcoming Portuguese Head of State Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on behalf of the Luxembourg Government for a lunch at Bourglinster Castle.
In the early afternoon, the President of the Portuguese Republic, accompanied by HRH the Grand Duke, will visit Esch-Belval for a visit of the Cité des Sciences. At the former industrial building Massenoire at the foot of the blast furnaces, they will be welcomed by the Housing Minister Marc Hansen, Justice Minister Félix Braz, Mayor of the City of Esch-sur-Alzette, Vera Spautz, Mayor of Sanem, Georges Engel, president of the development company Agora, Frank Vansteenkiste, of the Fonds Belval, Luc Dhamen.
At the Maison du Savoir, the President of the Portuguese Republic and HRH the Grand Duke will be welcomed by University Vice-President of the University of Luxembourg Romain Martin and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Humanities, Arts and Education, Georg Main. After a presentation by the University of Luxembourg, a cooperation agreement will be signed between the universities of Luxembourg and Porto. In addition, the President of the Portuguese Republic will meet with professors / researchers and students of Portuguese nationality from the University of Luxembourg.
Upon returning to the city, the President of the Portuguese Republic and LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess will visit the National Museum of History and Art for a guided tour of the exhibition "Portugal - Drawing the World", which aims to illustrate the journey of a country rich in history, An almost millennial history and to retrace the itinerary traveled by the Portuguese to the four corners of the world. They will be welcomed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Guy Arendt, the director of the National Museum of History and Art, Michel Polfer, and the director of the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon, António Filipe Pimentel. Then they will visit the exhibition "Remember (what is missing)" in the presence of the Portuguese artist Marco Godinho, who lives and works in Luxembourg.
The Portuguese Head of State and LL.AA.RR. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess will then proceed to the Cathedral. They will be welcomed by the Archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Bishop of Faro, Manuel Neto Quintas, and the Bishop of Bragança-Miranda, José Manuel Cordeiro. The Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos will provide information about her sculpture Le Cœur indépendant rouge. This monumental sculpture in plastic twisted under the heat is inspired by the hearts of Viana, traditional Portuguese jewels.
This second day of the visit will end with an evening offered by the President of the Portuguese Republic in honor of LL.AA.RR . The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. They will have the opportunity to attend a concert by the baroque orchestra Casa da Música in the Chamber Music Hall.
On July 25 May 2017, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will extend his stay, privately, Thursday, May 25, 2017.In the morning he will visit the Camões Institute - public entity for the promotion of the language And Portuguese culture abroad - and will meet with representatives of the Portuguese community living in Luxembourg.
He will then attend the 50th pilgrimage of Our Lady of Fatima which is held annually in Wiltz. As part of the centenary of the Fatima apparitions, the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima will take part in the ceremonies in Wiltz on 24 and 25 May 2017.
