The cooperation programs between the Lisbon-based Camoes Institute and the State University of Moldova will be extended, and namely through Portuguese language courses, Info-Prim Neo reports. Ana Paula Laborinho, the head of the Institute, met the Moldovan ambassador in Portugal, Valeriu Turea. She said that Moldovan community’s role in studying Portuguese provided a strong link to the European space. Besides Portuguese language, Lusophone culture will also be studied in Moldova. Camoes Institute initiated support programs including translations of Portuguese authors and creating Portuguese language text books. The Institute considers the possibility of offering the Moldovan students scholarships to learn Portuguese. Ambassador Valeriu Turea spoke about Moldova’s political, economic and cultural aspirations after 20 years of independence. He also expressed Moldova’s view on strengthening and diversifying its cooperation with Portugal. The Moldovan Embassy in Portugal and Camoes Institute agreed a set of events meant to mark the 20th anniversary of Moldova’s independence. The actions will be included in embassy’s project “Moldova, a close country”. Its goals are to promote bilateral contacts thus improving Moldova’s reputation in Portugal. The interlocutors discussed about the Agreement between the Moldovan and Portuguese governments regarding cooperation in education, sports, culture and youth policy. The draft was submitted to the Portuguese officials and Ana Paulo Laborinho confirmed the examination of project was nearly complete. According to internal regulations, some of the responsible institutions have already given the green light so that the agreement will probably be finished and signed by the end of the year. Camoes Institute is an administratively autonomous institution attached to the Portuguese Foreign Ministry and it is responsible for elaborating, coordinating and implementing Portugal’s cultural policy abroad.