Azores. President of the Republic begins four-day visit

The President of the Republic begins this Thursday a trip to five islands in the Azores, where he will visit the Lajes Base and the town of Rabo de Peixe and participate in a briefing on the geostrategic importance of the archipelago's sea.

According to the program released by the Regional Government, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will visit the Lajes Base, on Terceira Island, late this Thursday morning, then continue to Pico Island, where he will visit the Azores Wine Company and meet with producers and economic agents from the wine sector.

The second day of the visit, on Friday, will be dedicated to the island of Faial, beginning with a visit to the University of the Azores' Marine Science Research Institute – Okeanos, and attending, in the afternoon, a briefing on the strategic value of the autonomous region's maritime cluster .

On Saturday, the head of state begins the day with a visit to the village of Rabo de Peixe, on the island of São Miguel, where he will travel to the fishing port and attend an event promoting Azorean meat at the island's agricultural association.

On the last day of the visit, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be enthroned as a fellow member of the São Jorge Island cheese, one of the archipelago's best-known products, in a ceremony to be held in the municipality of Velas.

Since taking office as head of state for the first time in 2016, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has traveled to the Azores several times, including for official visits to the various islands and for the 2018 Portugal Day celebrations, which began in Ponta Delgada and continued with Portuguese and Portuguese-descendant emigrants on the East Coast of the United States.