The Chairman of the Kyiv Parliament will visit Portugal this year at the invitation of Aguiar-Branco

The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament will visit Portugal before the end of the year, and the Assembly of the Republic will cooperate on legislative reforms that Kyiv will have to implement in the process of joining NATO and the European Union.

An official invitation to Ruslan Stefanchuk to make an official visit to Portugal was made by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, on Monday during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly summit that is concluding today in Washington.

“This was a very important meeting, which allowed me to express and strongly condemn the recent attacks that Ukraine has suffered, attacks that have reached a very high level of barbarity. I repeated the invitation of President Ruslan Stefanchuk to visit Portugal, which he accepted. And so, on a date that needs to be agreed upon, but certainly by the end of the year, predictably around November, this visit will take place,” the President of the Assembly of the Republic told the Lusa news agency.

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, who is in Washington accompanied by the Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic, Marcos Perestrello, told the Lusa agency that he had agreed with his Ukrainian counterpart to intensify cooperation between the parliaments of Portugal and Ukraine.

“Between our parliaments we can move forward with closer cooperation. Portugal’s experience can help with legislative reforms (for example in the justice sector) needed for Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union,” said the former Social Democratic minister.

During a meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco stated that he confirmed “Portugal’s official position in support of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO.”

“From the President of Ukraine, I received a sincere, truthful and heartfelt recognition of the support that Portugal has given to the Ukrainian cause from the first hour, not only financially and militarily, but also humanitarianly, politically, geopolitically. Support and communication. Since Portugal is located at the opposite end of the European Union, our role in highlighting the Ukrainian cause is very important. And, on the other hand, Portugal can play its role, and it knows how to do it. Well, in relations with third countries, conveying the message that freedom and democracy are at stake for all of us,” he added.

At the meeting, the President of the Assembly of the Republic also conveyed to his colleague that the wounded Ukrainians who are being treated in Portugal were recently received in Parliament, in Lisbon, “and received expressions of applause and affection from Portuguese parliamentarians.”

“We have sincere and genuine relations with Ukraine,” he said.

On Monday in Washington, in addition to meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco held a bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament, Mauri Gusar.

“We looked at the main tasks of strengthening the European project and the issue of Ukraine at a time when Kaja Kallas is appointed to the post of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,” he stressed.

Aguiar-Branco held informal talks with the presidents of the Spanish and US congresses, as well as with the heads of the Italian and Polish parliaments.

Today, on the sidelines of the official work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco will also hold meetings with US congressmen of Portuguese origin in Washington.

The summit brings together parliamentary delegations from 32 NATO members and Ukraine, including 23 parliamentary chairpersons. This high-level meeting, among other objectives, aims to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the Atlantic Alliance and highlight the positions of parliaments of various member states on NATO’s key priorities.