Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu met with his counterpart Rui Machete within the scope of an official visit to Portugal. Speaking at the joint press conference following the tete-a-tete meeting and meeting between delegations, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu first thanked Portugal for its support to Turkey’s EU membership. Reminding that Turkey has become an observer member to the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that thanks to this status, bilateral relations could gain a new momentum.

Stating that two countries have similar approaches to regional and international issues as NATO allies, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that two states would continue to cooperate on military issues and relentlessly fight against all kinds of terrorism.

Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu also announced that Second Intergovernmental Summit between Turkey and Portugal will be organized in Ankara.

Speaking at the joint press conference, Portuguese Foreign Minister Machete expressed his pleasure for hosting Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu in Portugal and said that numerous issues of common interest were discussed on the occasion of the visit. Reiterating that Portugal and Turkey have strong ties, Foreign Minister Machete dwelled upon the importance of Turkey’s cooperation with Portugal to strengthen its political and economic ties with Portuguese speaking countries in Latin America and Africa. Foreign Minister added that Turkey could assume an important role for Portugal to reach out to Southeast Asian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

Following the joint press conference Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu and his counterpart Machete inaugurated the memorial in memory of Mrs. Cahide Mıhçıoğlu, the wife of Chargé d’Affaires Yurtsev Mıhçıoğlu, and Portuguese police officer Mr. Manuel Pacheco who lost their lives in the attack on Turkish Embassy in Lisbon by the Armenian Revolutionary Army in 1983.