At an event celebrating World Portuguese Language Day, held at the UN headquarters, on Monday, in New York, Guterres thanked Member States for the "generous donation of more than a hundred books, including important contributions of Portuguese-speaking authors to world knowledge and culture".
"These are works that offer a window into the hearts and minds of the Portuguese-speaking world, inviting colleagues and readers to explore, reflect and be moved by the rich diversity of our language", said the UN leader.
The former Portuguese Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the language as a link between cultures and communities around the world and considered the Portuguese language, spoken by hundreds of millions of people, a "unifying force" that acts "as a vehicle of expression in diplomacy, arts and literature".
Guterres indicated that Portuguese is already a working language in some UN agencies, highlighting the Portuguese language service of 'UN News', together with the social media teams and the Lusophone Information Centers and Regional Offices of the UN, the highlight "the growing demand for information in Portuguese".
Efforts to make Portuguese one of the official languages of the United Nations continue to progress, but the financial investment required "is immense", Portugal's ambassador to the UN, Ana Paula Zacarias, told Lusa last year.
Also in 2023, the Central American Court of Justice had already proposed to the UN Security Council to incorporate Portuguese as the organization's official language, along with English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian and Arabic.
In an article published last Sunday in the Público newspaper, on World Portuguese Language Day, the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, defended that the partner countries of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) align positions so that the language is recognized as a national language. UN official until 2030, considering that "it would be fair recognition".
The Portuguese language is not only one of the most widespread languages in the world, with more than 260 million speakers spread across all continents, but it is also the most spoken language in the southern hemisphere, according to data from UNESCO.
Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste are the nine member states of the CPLP.
In his intervention, Guterres recalled that, as Prime Minister of Portugal, he had the "privilege of participating in the creation of this Community almost 30 years ago", highlighting that, currently, "the values of dialogue and solidarity" at the CPLP center "are more relevant than ever."
"I know well that we can count on you in our mission for peace, human rights and sustainable development for all", concluded the secretary-general.
The celebration featured live music, gastronomy and the presence of international diplomatic representatives, including ambassadors from the nine member nations of the CPLP.
The Brazilian Mission to the UN organized the celebration in partnership with Camões -- Institute for Cooperation and Language and the Guimarães Rosa Institute, which promotes cultural and educational diplomacy.
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