Credit: MAE
Luxembourg's Foreign Ministry has reported that the Hereditary Grand Duke, Prince Guillaume, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, paid a working visit to Lisbon in Portugal on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 November 2024.
In Lisbon, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Minister Bettel attended the Web Summit, which is considered one of the largest technology conferences in the world. Here, they met with several representatives from the economic and political world during bilateral exchanges.
Minister Bettel then participated in a panel with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Paulo Rangel, on the theme of "Balancing technology, trust and democratic values". During their discussion, the two ministers discussed various means and policies to maintain and restore public trust in democratic institutions, with a particular focus on how innovation and democratic values can thrive together.
Prince Guillaume and Minister Bettel, accompanied by the President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Fernand Ernster, subsequently visited the stands of various countries, organisations and startups - including Artzap.AI and Quasible.AI, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB). The delegation then visited the stands of Cape Verde and Serbia, before ending the afternoon with a visit to the Portuguese stand.
On the sidelines of the conference, Minister Bettel had a bilateral meeting with the Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel. They discussed current international and European affairs as well as the "excellent" bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Portugal. Minister Bettel underlined the friendly nature on which the relations between the two countries are based: "Luxembourg and Portugal share a long-standing friendship, which continues to this day. Although separated by a certain geographical distance, we are united by our common values and positions." He also had an exchange of views with the Minister of Economy of Portugal, Pedro Reis. The ministers discussed in particular the economic relations between Luxembourg and Portugal and how these could be strengthened in the future.
