Portugal’s PM marks 50th anniversary of military coup that toppled civilian rule
Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, arrived in Chile on today where he was scheduled to meet with the president of Mexico, López Obrador, before taking part on Monday in the ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the coup that overthrew Chilean democracy*.
The meeting between António Costa and Andrés López Obrador – who rarely leaves Mexico on official or state visits – took place this morning.
An official source for the government told Lusa: “The ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état in Chile are an opportunity to deepen the bilateral relationship with Mexico. This bilateral meeting will also be an opportunity to explore the potential of the economic relationship.”
In economic terms, Mexico is the second biggest destination for national exports of goods to Latin America and the third destination for Portuguese investment in this part of the world. More than 50 Portuguese companies are present in Mexico in various areas.
In terms of political relations, António Costa visited Mexico in 2018 where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of President López Obrador.
In 2024, Portugal and Mexico will celebrate 160 years of diplomatic relations.
On what is his second visit to Chile – the first was in June 2017 – António Costa will also be meeting Portuguese businessmen who are investors in the Chilean market, mainly in the energy, construction, agri-food, insurance and consultancy sectors.
According to a government source, the meeting will be attended by representatives from companies such as Atlas MGA (insurance), Berd (construction of model bridges), Catari (construction), EDP Renováveis, Efacec, Fidelidade (insurance), Procesl/Quadrante (engineering and consultancy), Readiness IT (IT consultancy), REN, Sogrape (wines), Sovena (olive oil), Sugal (tomato concentrate agro-industry) and Transitex (logistics).
In terms of economic sectors, the Portuguese executive puts renewable energies among its main priorities: Chile is currently the second largest producer of lithium, with around 39,000 metric tonnes in 2022. Its reserves are considered the largest in the world, at 9.3 million metric tonnes.
After an official dinner this evening hosted by the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, Mr Costa will go on to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Boric tomorrow at La Moneda Palace, the seat of the Chilean government.
*Democracy was finally restored in March 1990 after an internationally supported referendum.
Source material: LUSA
