The President of the Government concluded Saturday the official visit to Brazil with a gathering with the Azorean community of Rio de Janeiro. On the occasion, called all Azoreans, those living in the Region and in the communities, to take up the challenge of "projecting the Azores in the world."
 
"All Azorean have been summoned for this task. We summon the Azoreans living in the archipelago as well as the Azoreans from our communities," said Vasco Cordeiro. He spoke at the end of his visit to Brazil, following the invitation of the Governor of the State of Santa Catarina, Eduardo Pinho Moreira. It also included a visit to the State of São Paulo.
 
In his speech, the President of the Government defended that one of the ways to give shape to this challenge is to make known the Azores of today. According to him, they are "one of the gateways to Europe that have managed, over time, to balance their development from an economic point of view, while safeguarding environmental and social sustainability goals."
 
"A Region that today asserts itself in the field of space technologies and whose University is one of the international institutions of reference in the study of the Sea. A Region that has followed its path and is very proud of its history and of what the Azoreans have done in the archipelago and in all the communities where they have settled," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.
 
According to the President of the Government, there is "a huge field that opens, along with our traditions, our culture and our identity, to continue this effort to make known the Region that we are today."
 
Before the meeting, Vasco Cordeiro also presided over the launch of the book entitled "Uma Página sobre Vitorino Nemésio" (A Page on Vitorino Nemésio), promoted by the Azorean Government and coordinated by Professor António Machado Pires, at House of the Azores of Rio de Janeiro. It was the first institution to be established outside the national territory.
 
"A ceremony full of symbolism," the President of the Government, stressed noting that this is a publication about "who created the concept of 'Azorianity' and a "landmark of the Azorean presence in the world," as it was launched at the House of the Azores of Rio de Janeiro.
 
"The edition and launch of this work has a dual significance. On the one hand, we honour one of our greatest Portuguese authors of the 20th century and, on the other hand, we are doing it in a land that also was also Nemésio's for some years of his life," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
At the invitation of Vasco Cordeiro, the Azorean delegation will include the Presidents of the Municipal Councils of Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória, which are twinned cities with Florianópolis, capital of the State of Santa Catarina. It also includes the members of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, José San-Bento (PS), António Soares Marinho (PSD) and Alonso Miguel (CDS/PP).