Spain’s king resumes travel agenda for state visits

Spain’s King Juan Carlos resumed Tuesday his official agenda abroad with a state visit to Portugal.

The king and Queen Sofia attended a dinner in Cascais with the presidents of Portugal, Anibal Cavaco Silva, and of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, and their respective wives.

The purpose of the king’s first trip to another country after his last hip operation is to participate, together with Napolitano and Cavaco Silva, in the 9th COTEC Europe Meeting on Wednesday in Lisbon.

The event was originally planned for last November but was postponed to allow Juan Carlos time to recuperate.

Before the dinner, the king met in Lisbon with Portuguese exPresident Mario Soares, with whom he has maintained excellent relations since Spain’s transition to democracy in the 1970s.

The officials and business executives 45 of them Spaniards taking part in the COTEC forum will debate the commitment of Spain, Italy and Portugal to reindustrialization as a means of boosting their economies and creating jobs for professionals and qualified specialists.

Before the king, Napolitano and Cavaco Silva give their speeches, those addressing the meeting will include European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani and the heads of COTEC in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The COTEC Foundation for Technological Innovation was created in Spain more than 20 years ago by a group of entrepreneurs following a suggestion by King Juan Carlos after he visited the United States in the late 1980s and observed the positive effects of innovation on economic growth.