Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

My Wife and I are very pleased to welcome Your Eminent Highness in this State Visit to Portugal, a country whose History is so intimately linked to the destinies of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Of this are witnesses the illustrious figures of Afonso of Portugal, Luís de Vasconcellos, António Manuel de Vilhena and Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, the Portuguese Grand Masters who served the cause of the Sovereign Order of Malta and whose driving capacity and humanistic vision, particularly those of António Manuel Vilhena and of Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, are an example and a reason for pride.

In our days, this relation of such particular proximity is institutionally expressed in the Cooperation Agreement that has linked Portugal to the Order of Malta for almost thirty years.

Portugal is an example of the notable humanitarian, care providing and social actions that the Sovereign Order of Malta has been developing, since its origins, on behalf of the values that guided its Founders and by which are ruled all those who, for more than nine centuries, have given it the best of their efforts.

An action that is represented by the care provided for the sick, the aged, the prison inmates and the pilgrims that, on a strictly volunteering basis, the Portuguese Association of the Knights of Malta carries out..

In a particularly difficult moment for Portugal, when we are all called upon the provide our best contribution to aid our countrymen that have been sorely afflicted with the social effects of the economic crisis the country is going through, I wish to express to Your Eminent Highness our deepest appreciation for the actions that the Order of Malta has been developing.

But the humanitarian and social action of the Sovereign Order of Malta also covers, today, more than 120 countries, with a material impact in the lives of millions of people facing the effects of conflicts, hunger and epidemics, independently of their race or religion.

This is immediately the case of the remaining Officially Portuguese Speaking countries. I thus want to highlight the relevance of the ceremony, which will be held tomorrow, for the signature of the Cooperation Agreement between the Order of Malta and CPLP which, I am certain, will greatly contribute to the desired strengthening of the relationship between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.

The same is expected from the relationship between the Order and the European Union, following the recently signed Cooperation Agreement with which Portugal is deeply satisfied.

Eminent Highness,

I am certain that Portugal and the Sovereign Order of Malta will know how to continue valuing the historic relationship that links them and the values on which it is based, as demonstrated by the material undertakings carried out in favour of the most needful, now and in the future.

It is in this spirit that I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health of His Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and to the perpetuity of the bonds of friendship of cooperation between the Sovereign Order of Malta and Portugal.

Thank you very much