It was his first time back in the country since he and his wife, Kate, flew home from the Algarve on September 9, 2007, four months after their daughter disappeared.
Mr McCann, 40,
met with lawyers in Lisbon acting on his
family's behalf in a bid to determine what can
still be done to trace his child.
Speaking to a
Portuguese news agency, the doctor from Rothley,
Leicestershire, told how he wished to 'work with
the (Portuguese) authorities as much as possible
in the ongoing search'.
'We think
there is still a very good chance Madeleine
could be found alive and well, and that's why we
want the search to continue,' he said.
'We want to
stress our desire to continue to work with the
authorities as much as possible.'
Mr McCann
confirmed he had no plans mount legal action
against the Portuguese media or the police who
named the distraught couple as 'arguidos' or
formal suspects in the investigation in
September 2007 before clearing them last July.
He said: 'I
want to make it clear that what happened in the
past stays there, and we really want to focus on
what can be done to continue the search.
'That is our
priority and always has been.'
Madeleine was just three when