Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar urged greater cooperation with Portugal, as he emerged from a meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, saying that the brief meeting discussed a range of possible areas of cooperation.
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“There were a few discussions about how far the relationship with Portugal is, and in which sectors we can co-operate with each other, especially in heritage, tourism sector, science, oceanography and Portuguese language,” Parsekar said.
Parsekar said that it was a matter of pride that Costa, an Indian origin leader, has become Prime Minister.
“I feel we Goans should feel proud that after we were ruled for 450 years, a person of Goan origin is today heading entire Portugal. It should be a matter of pride for all of us,” Parsekar said, after a meeting with Costa. “Our ties go back to almost 500 years ago. Of course, after Liberation we have been doing well. But the common civil code has been a gift to this state by Portugal. Common civil code is practiced only in Goa and appreciated by other states,” Parsekar said.
Costa, who later inaugurated the Centro Camões da Língua Portuguesa, extolled the use of language, especially Portuguese, as a tool for bringing people and countries closer especially since it is spoken across five continents and has speakers in all former colonies.
“I appreciate the work being done by Instituto Camões. We may be far away but the connect of language bring us closer,” Costa said.
