Brasília - The prime minister of Portugal, Pedro Santana Lopes, who is on an official visit to Brazil, says his country supports a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for Brazil.

Lopes also announced that his country is willing to assist Mercosur in its negotiations with the European Union because, he declared, it will not be easy to reach an agreement between the two economic blocks in the short-term. "This [an agreement] is in the interest of both Brazil and Portugal, but there remains much to be done in the areas of farm produce, services, transportation and communications," said Lopes.

The prime minister went to say that he believes Portuguese-speaking nations should unite to strengthen their cultural and linguistic ties. Lopes said he was in favor of the idea proposed by president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to make the Portuguese language a mandatory subject in universities around the world, including the United States, for example. "Brazil will have an important role in making this a reality," said Lopes.

Agencia Brasil
Reporter: Gabriela Guerreiro
Translator: Allen Bennett
9/8/2004