Dhaka honorary consul gets Portuguese ‘Order of Merit’ honour

Portuguese Ambassador in New Delhi Joao da Camara yesterday said Chittagong became an important trade centre where the Portuguese first arrived 500 years ago.

He was speaking at a ceremony where the Badge of the “Order of Merit” was handed over to Honorary Consul of Portugal Shakhawat Hossain at a Dhaka hotel on Friday.

Shakhawat Hossain's initiative to reprint the first ever 500-year-old “Bengali to Portuguese Thesaurus” will be formally launched in February next year, he announced at the programme.

The Portuguese president awarded Shakhawat Hossain with the “Order of Merit” for the initiative, the ambassador said.

“We have common memories, languages, culture and even common blood,” he said, adding that Bangla language has a link with Portuguese.

With the first arrival of the Portuguese, Chittagong became a very important trade centre from where the Portuguese went to places as far as Kerala, Sri Lanka and even Malacca.

The occasion of the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian subcontinent 500 years ago is being celebrated this year.

"Bangladesh is a young country but a very old friend of Portugal," he said.

Ambassador Camara also lauded the role of Bangladesh in receiving and supporting the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Head of the European Union in Bangladesh Rensje Teerink, the ambassadors of Germany and Brazil and Rab Director General Benazir Ahmed were present on the occasion among others.