Merkel hails Luso-German cooperation on Portugal visit

   LISBON, May 31 -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Luso-German cooperation on Wednesday, the first of a two-day visit to Portugal.
   "Our future prosperity depends on us being innovative," said Merkel, "and so it gives me great pleasure to see two geographically distant countries cooperating and working towards Europe's future."
   Merkel's comments, as reported by the Lusa Portuguese News Agency, were made in Braga, a city some 360 km north of Lisbon, where she attended the inauguration ceremony of the Bosch Technology and Development Center.
   "It is a huge pleasure to be here for the inauguration of this new center on what is a great day for Bosch, for Braga and for Luso-German cooperation," Merkel said.
   Bosch is a German multinational engineering and electronics company, best known for its power tools. It now has four centers in Lisbon, Ovar, Aveiro and Braga of Portugal.
   "This center is not just a historical moment in Portugal, but a testament to good cooperation between Bosch, Minho University and the Portuguese government," said Merkel.
   Merkel travelled with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa from Braga to the northern Portuguese city of Porto. They travelled in a Volkswagen T-Roc, a car manufactured at the Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, near Lisbon.
   In Porto, Merkel and Costa visited the I3S Health Research and Innovation Institute, linked to the University of Porto.
   Merkel will travel to Lisbon on Thursday to meet Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
   Germany is one of Portugal's biggest foreign investors.Xinhua