“Every three months there is a Council of State and this time, indeed, the Council of State will be on a subject that is particularly current, which is the problem of international trade," de Sousa told journalists after a visit to an old people's home in Lisbon.


Stressing that international trade “is one of the facets of globalisation”, the president said that the March meeting would cover “new challenges" in the field, given "Portugal's position in Europe, but also in the world”.


He said that he had not yet formally issued the summons for the meeting, but that the date had been chosen.
The last Council of State meeting took place on 20 December, with the theme being Europe.


Since he took office as head of state on 9 March 2016, de Sousa has gathered the Council of State every three months. His predecessor, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, called a total of 12 meetings in his decade in office.


The members of the body include the speaker of parliament, the prime minister, the president of the Constitutional Court, the justice ombudsman, the heads of the regional governments of Madeira and the Azores, and former presidents of Portugal. In addition, the current president appoints five further members to serve during his term, and parliament selects the same number, for the same period.