The Brazilian ambassador, Alfredo Leoni, was all smiles at the closing ceremony of the Portuguese language course at the embassy. Brazil has a Portuguese speaking population of over 200 million, much larger than even Portugal, which has a population of around 10 million. Since the Portuguese language programme began at the Embassy of Brazil in Islamabad in 2012, 120 students have graduated from the course. This week, 16 more received certificates.

“The effort to bring Portuguese language to Pakistan is part of the broader plan to enhance educational cooperation between the two countries. The plan also includes an exchange programme for undergraduate and graduate students and teachers,” Ambassador Leoni said.

He highlighted the importance of language and cultural knowledge in bringing Brazil closer to Pakistan.

He congratulated the students and appreciated their efforts in learning a language so different from the native languages of Pakistan. He also said that the course programme will be developed further and new basic and intermediate six-month courses will begin in March. Two evening classes will be held per week which will be offered free of cost. He said that the classes will be taught by professional language teacher Patricia Cassolatto.

Published in Dawn February 1st, 2015

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