President of Portugal awards IEA Executive Director top honour for work on international energy issues

At ceremony at Presidential Palace in Lisbon, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa presents Dr Fatih Birol with Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry for leadership on energy security

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal today presented IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol with the prestigious Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Lisbon, highlighting Dr Birol's outstanding contributions on global matters of energy security and transitions.

During the ceremony at the Palácio Nacional de Belém, Dr Birol thanked the President for the award, which is typically reserved for heads of state, saying he was deeply honoured. He dedicated it to his colleagues at the IEA, emphasising that it was recognition of their hard work. 

Before the ceremony, the President and Dr Birol also had a bilateral meeting during which they discussed a range of issues related to global energy and geopolitical trends.

While in Lisbon, Dr Birol delivered a keynote speech at the 25th anniversary of Adene, Portugal's national energy agency, where he spoke about key energy market developments and commended Portugal for its success in diversifying its energy mix and reducing emissions while ensuring electricity prices remained affordable. Dr Birol also had a bilateral meeting with Portugal's Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho.