By Aslam Chandio from Islamabad, Pakistan:

The Brazilian Ambassador to Pakistan Alfredo Leoni has reiterated his commitment to promote educational cooperation between Brazil and Pakistan.

Addressing a ceremony at the end of another session of the Portuguese Language Course at the Brazilian Embassy in Islamabad, Alfredo Leoni highlighted the importance of such an initiative to bring the Brazilian reality closer to Pakistanis and acknowledged the effort of the students to learn a language, so different than their native one.

“Educational cooperation is an extraordinary feature of the Brazilian partnership with Pakistan. In last few years, the Brazilian government began offering placements in world-class universities of Brazil for the Pakistani students,” Alfredo Leoni stated.

Alfredo Leoni also declared his commitment to promote the Portuguese course and educational cooperation with Pakistan. The ceremony was held at the chancery and the Brazilian Ambassador delivered certificates to 16 students. More than 120 students graduated in Pakistan since 2012.

The effort to bring Portuguese language to Pakistan is in the broader scope of educational cooperation between the two countries, which also encompasses a Program for Exchange Students in Brazil for undergraduate and graduate level.

The Portuguese course at the Embassy of Brazil in Islamabad will resume in March 2015, with basic, intermediate and advanced levels, free of charge. The duration of each level is 6 months. Classes take place at the Embassy of Brazil on Monday to Thursday.

Aslam Chandio is an Islamabad based journalist. He tweets at @aslamchandio_