The Portuguese head of state has asked Parliament for permission to travel to Angola from 26 to 29 August, where he plans to represent Portugal at the funeral of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.
“Since a trip to Angola is planned between 26 and 29 August this month to participate on behalf of Portugal at the state funeral of the former President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, I hereby request (…) the consent of the Assembly of the Republic is required,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement. addressed to Parliament and available on the website of the Assembly of the Republic.
Due to the absence of parliamentary work until the beginning of September, and given the exceptional nature of the situation, the President of the Assembly of the Republic informed all the leaders of the Parliament and the only deputies of this request of the Head of State, and a consensus was reached on the permission of the Parliament to travel, a source in the office of Augusto Santos Silva told Lusa.
Parliament’s authorization for the President of the Republic to travel abroad, as required by the Constitution, will then be ratified at a meeting of the Standing Committee on 7 September.
On Monday, the head of the Portuguese state has already confirmed his presence at the funeral of José Eduardo dos Santos.
“As announced in due course, the President of the Republic will attend the funeral of former President José Eduardo dos Santos,” reads a note posted on the website of the President of the Republic.
Marcelo Rebelo di Sousa will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho.
José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, died on July 8 at the age of 79 in Barcelona, Spain, where he had spent most of his time for the past five years.
The body of the former Angolan president arrived in Luanda on Saturday from Barcelona on an Angolan airline TAAG flight following a dispute between two factions of the family over custody of the body.
Funeral ceremonies are due to take place on August 28 in Luanda, said Rui Falcao, spokesman for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
