Peruvian president welcomes Spanish monarchs
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra and his wife, Maribel Diaz, on Monday welcomed the Spanish monarchs at an official ceremony at the Government Palace in Lima, where the two heads of state were to hold a meeting and preside at the signing of bilateral accords.
King Felipe VI arrived in Lima on Monday morning from Paris after participating in the international ceremony commemorating the World War I Armistice and attending a luncheon offered at Elysee Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron , while Queen Letizia had arrived in the Peruvian capital a few hours earlier on a commercial flight from Madrid.
The program for Felipe and Letizia’s first state visit to Peru began at the National Pantheon of Heroes with a salute to the Peruvian flag and the placing of a floral offering at the monument to the country’s independence, the bicentennial of which will be celebrated in 2021.
From there, the monarchs traveled to the Government Palace, which - along with the city’s cathedral - dominates the Plaza de Armas, where the traditional welcoming ceremony took place at which Felipe reviewed the troops and the national anthems were performed.
After the Peruvian president and first lady received the monarchs on the steps of the Government Palace, the quartet went into the palace, where Felipe and Vizcarra introduced their respective delegations.
The king and the president were scheduled to hold a meeting in the palace, while the queen and first lady were to converse in a nearby hall, after which they were to all move to the Salon Dorado, where Felipe was to be presented with the Distinguished Service Cross of Merit and to preside, along with Vizcarra, at the signing of four documents.
Among the documents is a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation in defense matters and another to foster Antarctic research, along with a joint declaration regarding the bicentennial of Peru’s independence and a cooperation agreement between Spain’s state-owned RTVE public radio and television corporation and Peru’s IRTP national radio and television institute.
After an official luncheon at which Felipe and Vizcarra will both give speeches, the Spanish monarchs will walk to the seat of the city government, where Lima’s mayor will present them with the keys to the city and will declare them to be illustrious guests of the capital.
The Spanish king will then go to Peru’s Congress, where he will meet with the president of the chamber, Daniel Salaverry, and later he will visit the seat of the Judicial Branch, while Letizia will travel to the Women’s Ministry to be briefed on the Women’s Emergency Centers that provide psychological, social and legal aid to victims of macho violence.
