The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the Prime Minister, António Costa attended; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell
Felipe VI has offered a dinner this Monday to the general secretary of the UN, Antonio Guterresin the Monastery of Yuste (caceres) as a prologue to tomorrow’s delivery of Charles V Award the Portuguese politician.
the meeting has been assisted by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousaand the prime minister Antonio Costa; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albaresand the high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
The small group of diners is completed by President of Extremadura Guillermo Fernandez Vara; the high representative of the Alliance of Civilizations of the UN, Miguel Angel Moratinosand Guterres’ wife, Catarina Vaz Pintowho will also be present at the Carlos V Award ceremony, which is delivered on May 9, Europe Day.
It is the first time in the 16 editions of the award in which a previous dinner is organized in the monastery where the emperor retired. Given the desire of Guterres, Rebelo de Sousa and Costa to spend the night in Extremadura, Felipe VI has decided to organize a dinner in honor of the winner.
Before lunch, held in the Salón de Cuadrales, the King and Guterres have greeted the guests in another room of the monastery and they have leaned out of the central balcony to admire the gardens of the enclosure and the panoramic view of the region of Cáceres de la Vera.
First Don Felipe and Rebelo de Sousa appeared and, immediately afterwards, the other guests arrived, with whom they chatted for a few minutes while they contemplated the views.
The monarch and Guterres have arrived together by helicopter in Cuacos de Yuste, the town where the monastery is located, and have shaken hands with the neighbors who were waiting for their arrival.
The dinner offered by the king It took place after the meeting that the UN Secretary General held this afternoon at the Palacio de la Moncloa with the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, who will not attend tomorrow the award ceremony granted by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation.
The Carlos V award recognizes the work of people, organizations or initiatives that have contributed to the construction of Europe and the promotion of its values.
Guterres, 74, joins a list of honors that includes personalities such as Jacques Delors, winner of the first edition in 1995; Felipe Gonzalez; Mikhail Gorbachev; Helmut Kohl; José Manuel Durão Barroso or Angela Merkel.
The socialist politician was Prime Minister of Portugal between 1995 and 2001 and, later, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Acnur). In 2016, he succeeded Ban Ki-moon as head of the UN and in 2021, he renewed his mandate for another five years.