On 28 and 29 October, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset will pay his first official visit to Portugal since taking office in 2024.
In Lisbon, the Secretary General will meet the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel.
In his meetings, the Secretary General will address ways to further strengthen cooperation between the Council of Europe and Portugal, one year ahead of the 50th anniversary of its accession to the Council of Europe, and the need for European states to engage in a New Democratic Pact for Europe, a shared commitment aimed at enhancing democratic security on the continent.
The Secretary General will also convene a working dinner hosted at the Aga Khan Foundation, which will be the opportunity of a debate on "Rethinking global balance: North-South dialogue in an era of East-West deadlock". Participants to the dinner will include among others Samuel Mbemba Kabuya, Minister of Human Rights of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mohamed Ben Salah Ben Aisa, Deputy Secretary General of the League of Arab States, and Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations.
During his visit, the Secretary General, in the presence of the President of Portugal, will deliver a speech at the Portuguese Parliament for the award ceremony of the 30th North-South Prize (watch live from 14.00 on 29 October). The award acknowledges major contributions to the protection of human rights, defence of democracy, or raising public awareness on issues of interdependence and global solidarity.
Secretary General Berset will also speak at the closing session of the North-South Centre's Lisbon Forum 2025, held under the theme "AI and Global Governance: Rights, Representativity and Readiness". The forum, organised on 28 and 29 October, will bring together more than 200 policymakers, legal professionals, civil society and youth representatives from across the world to discuss the need to govern artificial intelligence in a way that upholds human rights, democracy and cultural diversity.
Watch the North-South Prize live
