New York, Sept. 22, (Lusa) - The Portuguese prime minister begins a three-day visit to the United States on Tuesday to attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, with the programme kicking off with a visit to the New York Stock Exchange.
Ahead of two days devoted entirely to the UN's general debate, Luís Montenegro aims, through today's programme, to «highlight the growing importance of economic and trade ties» between Portugal and the US.
This objective was communicated to Lusa by Luís Montenegro's office, which points out that, in 2025, the US was Portugal's fourth-largest trading partner in terms of goods trade, with a market share of 5.8% of Portugal's exports (€4.6 billion), and the tenth-largest supplier (accounting for 2.1% of imports, worth €2.4 billion).
The Portuguese prime minister is due to arrive in New York at 1 p.m. (6 p.m. in Lisbon) and, two hours later, will be the guest of the New York Stock Exchange for the traditional closing bell ceremony, during which he will ring the bell to mark the end of the trading session.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, this invitation from the New York Stock Exchange «recognises Portugal's economic and financial track record», as well as its «economic growth exceeding that of the eurozone, a public budget surplus, declining public debt, record levels of employment and consequent recognition from credit rating agencies», such as Fitch's recent upgrade of the country's rating to A+.
«This ceremony will provide a unique opportunity to enhance Portugal's image amongst investors in one of the world's most dynamic capital markets and to emphasise that Portugal is not only open to US investment but is also a highly significant partner in sectors of strategic importance to both countries», it is noted, highlighting, in particular, «substantial investments» by Portuguese companies in the US in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors.
Durão Barroso also took part in the closing ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange in 2007, whilst he was President of the European Commission, whilst Cavaco Silva rang the bell to open the market in 2008 during an official visit to the US as Portugal's president.
Montenegro will then open a shop specialising in Portuguese filigree jewellery in Times Square and, at the end of the day, will attend the traditional reception hosted by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for world leaders taking part in the annual debate of the 81st UN General Assembly.
The remaining two days of the prime minister's visit will be devoted to the UN General Assembly, just a few months before Portugal takes up its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2027–2028 term in January.
The general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly begins today, and Luís Montenegro's address at this annual meeting of representatives from the 193 UN member states is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
This year's high-level meeting is themed «Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation» and is the last to be held under the leadership of Portugal's António Guterres as leader of the organisation; the prime minister is due to meet with him on Wednesday morning.
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