Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made this invitation to John Kerry at a meeting that the two had in Brest, France, on the sidelines of the international summit "One Ocean".
"It remains to be seen whether it is possible to set dates, to be able to determine exactly when this could occur, because it will allow us to deal with a very important matter, particularly important for us: climate change, the oceans and new energies, which is the order of the day", declared the head of state.
"He accepted. Now it's just a matter of setting the exact date", added Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The President of the Republic said that the former US Secretary of State, current special envoy of President Joe Biden for climate issues, "will go to Lisbon for the United Nations Ocean Conference" in June, organised by Portugal jointly with Kenya.
Since taking over as head of State in March 2016, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has increased the frequency of meetings of the Council of State, his political consultative body, and has innovated by inviting foreign and Portuguese personalities to this body’s meetings.
The first guest was the former President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, in April 2016.
Chaired by the President of the Republic, the Council of State has as its inherent members the holders of the positions of President of the Assembly of the Republic, Prime Minister, President of the Constitutional Court, Ombudsman, Presidents of regional governments and former Presidents of the Republic.
Under the terms of the Constitution, it also comprises five citizens appointed by the Head of State, for the period corresponding to the duration of their mandate, and five elected by the Assembly of the Republic, in accordance with the principle of proportional representation, for the period corresponding to the duration of the legislature.
I really hope John Kerry accepts. I saw him speaking before in Lisbon and thought he was brilliant and really understands the problems we are facing when it comes to the oceans. I am especially concerned about threats to marine life and am the author of Saving Mother Ocean.
By Steve Andrews from Other on 11 Feb 2022, 18:14