Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 24, 2019
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 24, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and gave full powers to the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, to sign Timor-Leste's accession to the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from Mediation, also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation. This Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2018, is intended to provide States and regional economic integration organizations with a cross-border legal framework to ensure compliance with agreements providing for mediation as a means of resolving possible disputes between the Parties in the commercial sector. This Convention provides for mediation as a means of resolving disputes arising in the context of international trade relations and has already been ratified by more than 150 countries, including all ASEAN countries. Timor-Leste will sign the Convention on August 7, 2019 in Singapore.
Acting Minister of the Interior, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, presented a Government Resolution proposal, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerning the visa waiver of Indonesian citizens, thus implementing the Memorandum of Understanding between Timor-Leste, Indonesia and the Asian Development Bank on technical assistance for cross-border trade and cooperation. This resolution aims to strengthen cross-border economic cooperation to combat poverty and generate new economic opportunities and revenue by boosting cross-border tourism. It also aims to prepare for ASEAN integration through increased cooperation with the nearest neighbor, support for growth and economic diversification.
The Council of Ministers also gave full powers to Defense Minister Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus to sign the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Defense of Japan on cooperation for education and training in humanitarian assistance and operation for disaster relief.
Finally, the Council of Ministers granted full powers to the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, Dulce de Jesus Soares, to sign the Addendum to the Cooperation Protocol between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Portuguese Republic, for the continued implementation of the CAFE project and the international assessment provided for in the protocol, allowing for discussions with the partner on a new phase of project implementation and to follow up in 2019 on all procedures necessary for implementation of the project from 2020 onwards. This protocol was signed on December 30, 2014 for a period of four years and renewed on July 20, 2017 for the period from September 29, 2018 to December 31, 2019. The future addendum provides for a further two-year extension, to apply from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. ENDS
