The President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, swore in five members of the Seventh Constitutional Government, led by Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri, at a ceremony held on October 17 at President Nicolau Lobato’s Palace, in Dili.
Those sworn in were the Minister of Justice, Maria Ângela Guterres Viegas Carrascalão; the Minister of Tourism, Manuel Florêncio da Canossa Vong; the Vice Minister of Planning and Finance, Sara Lobo Brites; the Vice Minister of Tourism, Rui Meneses da Costa; and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno.
The Prime Minister pointed out that “the current Seventh Constitutional Government stems from an electoral result in which the people clearly expressed the will for a governance of permanent compromise and coordination between the various political forces with a parliamentary seat, calling for their union to guarantee the peace and stability necessary for the success of any national development program. It is always keeping this in mind that as Prime Minister, I am doing everything to expand the inclusion considered necessary to form the Government I have the honour to lead”.
With the swearing-in of these five members, the Seventh Constitutional Government is complete, with a total of 37 members.
In his speech, the Head of Government insisted on “expressing Timor-Leste’s solidarity towards the deadly tragedy that has once again hit Portugal. The number of reported victims and the number of burned hectares has not left any Timorese citizen indifferent, and despite the distance that separates us geographically, I want to make it clear that the people of Portugal are now, more than ever, in our prayers”.
Marí Alkatiri, concluded his speech by mentioning the announcement of the agreement between Timor-Leste and Australia on the complete text of a draft treaty, communicated by a press release of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, on October 15. “As we have already stated, the delimitation of permanent borders with Australia and Indonesia is a national priority for the current Government. We must therefore congratulate ourselves on the latest heading within the final text of the treaty on the delimitation of maritime borders between Australia and Timor-Leste, to be signed at a date yet to be determined. Once again, we extend our deepest thanks to the previous Government and, above all, to our Maun Bot, Xanana Gusmão, for all the efforts made to achieve this goal”, stated the Prime Minister.
The speech of the Prime Minister is available here.
To read the news of the swearing in on October 3, click here.
To read the news of the swearing in on September 15, click here.
To read the news about the Press Release of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, click here.
The Press Release of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on October 15, is available here.