CPLP Justice Ministers meet in Dili
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, June 22nd, 2015
CPLP Justice Ministers meet in Dili
The fourteenth Conference of Ministers of Justice from the Portuguese Speaking Countries has begun. During this morning’s opening ceremony, conducted in Dili at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Prime Minister H.E. Rui Maria de Araújo warmly welcomed the visiting delegations saying that he trusted “our work will be successful, so that within this common spirit of friendship we will be able to achieve outcomes reflecting the improvement of the living conditions of our peoples, as well as nurturing economic activity and enabling development in our States.”
Timor-Leste is currently the President of the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP), having assumed the two-year rotating leadership role on the 23rd of July 2014. The group is comprised of nine member States and represents over 250 million people. Today representatives of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Chair Timor-Leste, came together to discuss “Land Ownership as a factor in Development.”
The Sixth Constitutional Government has identified this issue as one of particular importance that must be comprehensively addressed to create an optimal business and investment environment in Timor-Leste. The Government is working to speed up legislation of the “Land and Properties Law” and continues to support the process for regularizing land ownership through the “Ita Nia Rai” project and more recently the National Cadastral System. Other CPLP States have navigated the challenge of overlapping claims flowing from colonization, post-conflict scenarios and cultures of traditional ownership. Timor-Leste will be seeking to hear about their experiences as the State seeks to advance this issue in a productive and respectful way.
The Minister of Justice H.E. Ivo Valente noted that the coming days will also include the discussion of bilateral cooperation protocols with several CPLP countries to assist the strengthening of the justice sector, with an emphasis on the training of Timorese justice personnel.
Important steps to enhance bilateral cooperation in the sector were made last week in Lisbon when Minister of State, H.E. Agio Pereira met with the Portuguese Minister of Justice H.E. Paula Teixeira da Cruz to discuss the reactivation and reshaping of Timor-Leste and Portugal’s program. The Minister of State reported that the meeting had been positive and explained that adjustments were being proposed to maximize “the process of bilateral cooperation to bear fruit in the long term”. He also noted the long and enduring ties of friendship and solidarity between the two “sister countries” which have cooperation agreements across multiple sectors.
The Conference of Justice Ministers will conclude on Tuesday evening. Other CPLP events to be convened in Díli next month include the Second Civil Society Forum, the Eighth Conference of Ministers of Tourism, the Thirty-First Meeting of Cooperation Focal Points and the Twentieth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the CPLP.
