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President Klaus Iohannis postponed his state visit to Portugal, scheduled for 23 and 24 October, at the suggestion of his counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, due to the situation engendered by the wildfires affecting this country. According to a press release of the Presidential Administration sent to Agerpres on Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis talked over the phone with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the latter's initiative.
"President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa provided information regarding the wildfires that have swept over Portugal starting with 15 October, leaving so far tens of people deceased and injured, as well as important material damages. The President of Portugal specified that this exceptional situation requires that all decision-making factors in his country mobilise in order to overcome the generated negative consequences. In this context, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa regretfully proposed the postponement of Romania's President state visit to Portugal scheduled for 23-24 October," the quoted source informs.
Klaus Iohannis recalled the solidarity message sent to his Portuguese counterpart on 17 October and reiterated, in both his name and the Romanians' name, his full solidarity and compassion in this trying moments, when Portugal is facing the devastating consequences of the wildfires. The head of state also sent his sincere condolences to the victims' families and wishes for the swift recovery of the injured.
"President Klaus Iohannis showed, therewith, that the Romanian authorities are especially concerned about the presence of certain Romanian citizens' communities in the area affected by the fires, the situation being attentively and actively monitored by the Romanian Embassy in Lisbon and "expressed Romania's availability to grant support to the Portuguese authorities in handling the situation generated by the fires, to the extent that the latter will deem necessary," the release further mentions.
In this context, President Klaus Iohannis expressed understanding for the adjournment, due to objective reasons, of the state visit. The two presidents agreed on rescheduling the visit to a later date, when the situation created by the devastating fires in Portugal allow for it.
