Portugal’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2013 was down 3.9% from the same period of 2012.

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, leaves for Colombia Monday for a four-day visit with not just a political agenda, but also a strong economic and cultural mission.

When asked about the 17.5% jobless rate revealed by Eurostat for February, Pereira said the government would do everything in its power to “boost the economy and investment and create jobs”.

The country’s public debt stood at €204.5bn at the end of 2012, surpassing the €200bn mark for the first time. The numbers released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) Thursday also confirm the economy contracted 6.4%.

Portuguese consumer confidence and economic climate indicators recovered in the first three months of the year after hitting minimums in December.

Portugal’s employment numbers are at the lowest level in 17 years, according to figures released by the Portuguese National Statistics Institute.

Portugal’s economy contracting more than expected will pose a headache for the government, which based its 2013 budget on earlier forecasts.

Portugal is among the five of the EU’s 27 member states where trust in justice is at its lowest, with 49.7% saying they have little confidence in the system.

The only country with a worse performance than Portugal in November was Slovenia, which saw output drop 4%.