A training ship of the Brazilian Navy hosted this Wednesday, in Lisbon, the commemorations of the bicentennial of the independence of Brazil, in an event that demonstrates the high involvement of the Portuguese in this celebration, according to a diplomat.
The training ship “Brasil” is moored in Lisbon, while its Portuguese counterpart “Sagres” is in Brazil, participating in the bicentennial celebrations, with both playing their role as “traveling embassies”according to the charge d’affaires of the Brazilian Embassy in Portugal, Minister Counselor João Ortega Terra.
Duly adorned with flags, among which the Brazilian and Portuguese flags stand out, the ship, which carries 32 officers, 220 soldiers and 193 midshipmen, received several diplomatic representatives from countries “with particularly strong relationships” with Brazil and its Navy, said the diplomat.
The ceremony began with the national anthems of the two countries, before the ship’s commander, Captain André Ricardo Araújo Silva, took the floor to recall the history of this ship, the third of the Brazilian Navy to bear that name. and that it was launched in 1986.
Then came the intervention of João Ortega Terra, who highlighted the ties that unite Brazil and Portugal, which he described as “the most perfect friendship”.
The ceremony ended with the delivery of a miniature of the school ship “Brasil” to Carlos Moedas, mayor of Lisbon, host of the event.
For Lusa, João Ortega Terra said that it is “an extraordinary circumstance: commemorate the bicentennial of the independence of Brazil in Portugal“.
And he highlighted the involvement of Portugal in these celebrations. “It is something that is not usual in other countries, to participate in this way in the celebration of the independence of another country that was its colony in the past.”
“The enthusiasm for the participation of Portugal is something that excites us and leaves us very satisfied“, he said, recalling that the Brazilian ambassador to Portugal is currently in Brasilia, accompanying the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, who are participating in the bicentennial . , in Brazil. .
“This gives the dimension of Portugal’s participation in these celebrations,” he said.
The diplomat left a message to the Portuguese and Brazilians residing in Portugal: “We are in fact brothers.”
Regarding the current bicentennial celebrations, João Ortega Terra said that, in the case of the bilateral relationship, he would like to see that the mark is precisely the decision to celebrate it together.
“Independence was a political rupture, to become a great friendship.”, I observe.
Inside the ship, in great prominence, he had drawn a table, with coffee beans, an anchor, symbol of the Navy, and the number of years of independent Brazil: 200.
On September 7, 1822, D. Pedro I of Brazil (IV of Portugal) proclaimed, on the banks of the Ipiranga River, the independence of Brazil.
Source: Observadora
