Media Releases
- 07 of August of 2022Government expresses solidarity with CubaThe Government of Timor-Leste extends its solidarity to the Government and people of Cuba, following a major fire in fuel depots, near the city of Matanzas, in western Cuba, about 100 kilometres east of Havana.more
- 03 of August of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 3rd, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 3rd, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, referring to the new Superior Council for Military Defence’s Regulations.
The purpose of this diploma is to make the Superior Council for Military Defence’s Regulations compatible with the National Defence Law in force, thus revoking Government Decree no. 6/2016, of May 11th.
With this amendment, as already defined in the National Defence Law, the Superior Council for Military Defence will be integrated by Generals out of active service who have served as Supreme Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA – Portuguese acronym), Deputy Supreme Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Vice-CEMGFA – Portuguese acronym) or Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMFA – Portuguese acronym), to ensure the transition and implementation of the development objectives outlined in the strategic documents of Defence. The meeting of this Council is also mandatory in matters concerning the amendment of the organic structure of the F-FDTL, the proposals for appointment and dismissal for the positions of Supreme Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA – Portuguese acronym), Deputy Supreme Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Vice-CEMGFA – Portuguese acronym) and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMFA – Portuguese acronym) and the F-FDTL Military Build-Up.
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The draft Law Proposal, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, for the fifth amendment to Law 6/2006, of December 28th, which approves the Electoral Law for the National Parliament was approved.
The purpose of this project is to incorporate in the Electoral Law for the National Parliament the innovations introduced in 2021 in the Electoral Law for the President of the Republic, to maintain the harmonization of the rules regarding the electoral process of these sovereign bodies.
Thus, the new rules on the opening hours of polling centres, the permission for journalists covering the parliamentary election to vote at the polling centre closest to where they are working, the obligation for voters to identify themselves only using valid personal identification documents, or the establishment of the election monitor position, with functions similar to those of election observers, are transposed to the Electoral Law for the National Parliament.
Some improvements have also been made to the norms, clarifying that at the national tabulation meeting, the CNE makes the final decision on invalid votes and that the elements on the ballot paper include the order number of each candidacy resulting from the drawing of lots for the lists of candidates.
Lastly, one of the main innovations of the 2021 presidential election was adopted, the parallel voting centres, although with a new configuration. Thirteen parallel voting centres will be installed in Dili, each one associated with a municipality and the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA - Portuguese Acronym), where any voter registered in a geographical unit of registration located outside the municipality of Dili, and who does not wish to vote in his/her original voting centre, can register.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, also presented by Minister Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, for the third amendment to the Organic of the Ministry of State Administration (MAE – Portuguese acronym).
This legislative initiative is related to the need to establish a line of action and coordination between the Minister of State Administration and the Executive Secretary of the Technical Secretariat of the National Programme for the Development of Villages (Sucos) (PNDS – Portuguese acronym), to allow a greater and closer follow-up of the programmes and activities executed by the PNDS and its decision making. In this context, the Technical Secretariat of the PNDS is the central service of the MAE which, under the dependence of the Minister, is responsible for the practice of material acts necessary for the exercise of attributions regarding the management of the PNDS.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Oil and Minerals, Victor da Conceição Soares, which aims to extend the validity of Decree Law 18/2022, of 19 April, which established the legal framework for granting a financial subsidy of an exceptional and transitional nature to reduce the economic impact of the increase in fuel prices to be allocated to public transport operators and purchasers of fuel for agricultural and fishing activities, until 31 October 2022. All other conditions for granting the fuel subsidy previously provided for, remain unchanged.
Given that the exceptional conditions for fuel price increases in the market remain unusually unstable, there is still a need for the Government to continue to support public transport operators and purchasers of fuel for agricultural and fishing activities, to mitigate the impact of these increases on such an important raw material for the development of the national economy, as is the price of fuel.
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The Council of Ministers decided to appoint the Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Victor da Conceição Soares, as the representative of the State's rights, as a shareholder in the Timor-Leste’s Mining Company (Companhia Mineira de Timor-Leste, SA (CMTL)).
The draft resolution was presented by the Minister of Petroleum and Minerals. This deliberation takes into account what is defined in Decree-Law 43/2022, of June 8th, which established CMTL, and determines that the State’s rights as a shareholder are exercised through the individual designated by deliberation of the Council of Ministers, under the proposal of the member of the Government responsible for the area of mineral resources.
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The Minister of Petroleum and Minerals also presented the draft resolution, also approved by the Council of Ministers, on the approval of the name of Eliud de Jesus Gomes, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, to be elected by the General Assembly, under the proposal of the member of the Government responsible for the area of mineral resources at Companhia Mineira de Timor-Leste, SA, following the provisions of Decree Law 43/2022, of June 8th, which established CMTL.
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The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, to start negotiating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the specific conditions of a loan for the project to supply drinking water to the western part of Dili.
Complementary to the other ongoing projects for the improvement of the water supply in the city of Dili, the Government now intends to mobilize financial assistance in the form of loans for the improvement of the water supply to the western part of the city. Given the project's characteristics and the funding required, the Asian Development Bank appears to be the appropriate counterpart to provide the funding.
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Lastly, the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, gave a presentation on the proposed calendar for next year's parliamentary elections. The legislature comprises five legislative sessions and each legislative session lasts for one year, beginning on 15 September and ending on 14 September of the following year. In the case of dissolution (early parliamentary election), the elected National Parliament shall commence a new legislature, the duration of which shall be increased by the time necessary to complete the period corresponding to the legislative session in progress on the date of the election. END - 29 of July of 2022Statement on the situation in MyanmarThe President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta held a meeting today in his office with the President of the National Parliament, Members of Commission B, and the Prime Minister to discuss the dramatic worsening situation in Myanmar.more
- 27 of July of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 27th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 27th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, regarding the Remuneration Supplement to public servants and agents of the Public Administration that exercise training functions in Public Administration.
This draft Decree-Law aims to establish a scheme capable of financially compensating the added responsibility and complexity of civil servants and administrative agents involved in general or specialized training. This new supplement enhances the use of the existing training capacity within the national Public Administration, thus contributing to the rationalization of national resources.
The hourly value of the trainer's supplement will be set according to the degree of functional complexity of the trainees' careers. The entity responsible for paying this supplement is the entity responsible for carrying out the training or the entity financing it.
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The draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, was approved. It aims to establish the Legal Regime of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of Diagnostic Services.
The purpose of this draft Decree-Law is to establish a legal framework specifically applicable to the PPP agreement regarding the services of laboratory and imaging diagnostics, defining a more flexible and appropriate regime for the collaboration of a private partner in the provision of public services, providing mechanisms to ensure the sustainability, risk allocation, operability and quality of services to be provided to the population, to establish a clear, fair, predictable and stable legal framework that will stimulate and attract private investment and guarantee the provision of public laboratory and imaging diagnostic services.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, also presented by the Minister of Finance, which sets the maximum amounts payable for the acquisition of real estate and the loss of buildings, improvements, forestry and crops and for the cessation of livestock, fishing and salt collection activities in the implementation area of the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport upgrading project.
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Also approved was the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Public Works, Abel Pires da Silva, for the first amendment to Decree-Law No. 11/2006 of April 12th, regarding the establishment of the Timor-Leste’s Institute Equipment Management (IGE - Portuguese Acronyms) and approval of its Statutes.
This amendment aims to make IGE's statutes compatible with the Decree-Law on the Organization of Direct and Indirect Administration, with the Organic Law of the 8th Constitutional Government, and to grant new competencies that will allow maximizing IGE's resources, improving the public service provided by the State to its citizens.
Thus, the competencies and attributions that the IGE has been carrying out over the years in support of many situations requiring immediate intervention to restore safe road traffic and prevent flooding by cleaning and normalizing streams are now enshrined. This institution has the necessary equipment to perform these tasks, and also has the technical knowledge and experience in the field to be able to perform, as part of its duties, not only the previously planned management of heavy equipment but also roadway maintenance activities, de-silting and cleaning of rivers, streams and stabilization of banks and slopes.
With this Decree-Law, the figure of the Executive Director is established, with competence for the direction and management of IGE's services following the guidelines of its Board of Directors. It is also attributed to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of IGE the competence to approve the expenditure, authorize and approve procurement and sign contracts, by the law.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho and by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Armindo Maia, to approve the School Meals Program.
The School Meal Programme is a subsidy granted within the scope of school social action, aimed at ensuring the right to a daily meal with healthy and balanced food content, essential to the development and encourage the participation of children in preschool education and basic education, public and private, integrated into the public network of public service supply, located in the national territory, to promote their teaching and learning process. Under this programme, meals will be provided to pupils at preschool and primary education establishments, public and private, integrated into the public network of public service provision, located in the national territory.
The subsidies attributed within the scope of this Programme have the nature of public grants and take the form of a food subsidy, which is intended exclusively for the purchase of foodstuffs, and an administrative subsidy, which is intended to support expenses with administrative charges arising from the implementation of the Programme.
The implementers of the School Meals Programme are the public and private pre-school and basic education establishments integrated into the public service supply network, located in the national territory and the community organisations, community groups or similar, namely associations without legal personality.
The amount of the subsidy granted under the School Meals Program is set at US$ 0.42 per school day and student.
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Lastly, the draft Resolution Proposal of the National Parliament for the ratification of the Millennium Challenge compact agreement, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, was also approved.
This cooperation pact, which was signed last July 19th, will be executed over five years and has a global amount of US$ 484 million.
The programme will focus on two main components, one on improving the water, sanitation and drainage system and the other on education and training. The first component aims to reduce the contamination of drinking water and groundwater, which can cause illness and impede the well-being and health of children and adults. This component includes the building of a factory to produce chemical disinfectants for the city water supply, the construction of the country's first central wastewater system, the improvement of the drainage network for the capital Dili and four neighbouring municipalities, policy and institutional reforms as well as social and behavioural changes to improve the sanitation system and water management at the household level. The second component aims to improve the quality of high school education for students by improving high school teaching and school leadership. The project will establish the country's first formal initial teacher training certification institution, the Centre of Excellence, which will provide professional training and certification for prospective and current high school teachers and leaders. Investing in teacher training will lead to better high schools, with students who will be better prepared for jobs or post-secondary education and thus improve their ability to contribute to the country's economic growth. END - 20 of July of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 20th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 20th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and approved the draft Government Decree, presented by the Minister of the Interior, Taur Matan Ruak and Vice Minister of the Interior, António Armindo, on the daily food allowance to the Migration Service officers. This draft government decree establishes the daily value and consequent regularization of payments of this subsidy, as provided for in the Staff Regulations of the Migration Service, thus standardizing it with the value of the food subsidy provided for in the remuneration schemes of the Defence and Security Forces. The daily allowance defined in this diploma is US$ 10 (ten US dollars).
The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, to sign a Financing Agreement with the World Bank (International Development Association) regarding the Dili water supply project. The agreement aims to contract a loan in the amount of about US$ 121 million, with a 40-year maturity period, to finance a project to supply water to Dili. The programme to be developed through this funding will have a seven-year maturity and three components: the first for developing water supply infrastructure, the second for improving the institutional capacity of services in this sector and the third for improving project management.
The draft Decree-Law, also presented by the Minister of Finance, for the first amendment to Decree-Law 30/2011 of July 27th, on the conditions and procedures to be observed concerning the import of motor vehicles, was approved. More than ten years after the approval of that decree-law, there is a need to introduce more stringent conditions for importing vehicles and to control import operations more effectively, to ensure consumer and environmental protection. To this end, the present draft Decree-Law intends to add the prohibition of importing motorbikes and light passenger and mixed vehicles that do not comply with the technical conditions for circulation in national territory and to create an administrative offence system to punish non-compliance with the rules set out in the diploma. It is also intended to simplify the procedure for importing vehicles, eliminating the prior authorisation and concentrating the verification of the legal import requirements in a single moment, thus facilitating the import of vehicles following the law.
The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, presented the political-legislative options that underlie the establishment of a remuneration regime for the Chairpersons of the State's indirect administration bodies, seeking to establish aligned remunerations according to objective criteria, to ensure, as much as possible, the public interest and equal treatment for equal situations.
Lastly, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Julião da Silva, gave a presentation on Timor-Leste's application process as a member of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council for the period 2024 to 2026. If elected, this will be the first time Timor-Leste will be a member of the human rights council, contributing to the promotion of human rights through mutual respect and dialogue. Promoting and protecting human rights is a priority for Timor-Leste, both nationally and internationally. END
- 18 of July of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 18th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 18th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Díli, and decided to approve the total amount of expenditure for each budget title regarding the General State Budget 2023 (GSB 2023). END - 13 of July of 2022Timor-Leste signs Compact Agreement with MCC on July 19th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Timor-Leste signs Compact Agreement with MCC on July 19th, 2022
The Government of Timor-Leste and the American government agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will sign, on July 19th, 2022, a cooperation pact for a program, to be executed over five years, with a total amount of US$ 484 million, to reduce poverty through economic growth.
The compact agreement with MCC will be signed by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Magalhães and the Vice President of MCC, Cameron Alford, in a ceremony to be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
The investment will focus on two main projects, one for the improvement of the water, sanitation and drainage system and the other in the area of education and training. The first includes water treatment, sewage, drainage systems, the strengthening of institutions and regulatory bodies, and the creation of a solid supply of water and sewage for domestic use. The second will include a New Centre of Excellence for the training of new teachers that will ensure quality standards and leadership.
Of an estimated total of US$ 484 million, US$ 420 million will be provided by the MCC and the Government of Timor-Leste will contribute US$ 64 million. The amount to be provided by Timor-Leste will be allocated only to the water, sewage and drainage treatment project, of which US$ 34 million will be used to connect households and decommission the existing septic tanks. The remaining US$ 30 million will be used to support the installation of the conventional system and the installation of water pumps.
The MCC Board of Directors selected Timor-Leste in December 2017 as eligible for the implementation of an economic growth promotion programme aligned with national development priorities.
On July 21st, 2018, Minister Fidelis Magalhães and MCC Deputy Vice President Jonathan Brooks signed an initial funding agreement, worth US$ 750,000 for the creation of a team, embedded in the Millennium Challenge Compact programme, with the mission to identify economic sectors to be developed during the implementation of the programme.
This Government of Timor-Leste Compact Development Team (CDT-TL) was officially established on March 25th, 2019 and is led by Ambassador Constâncio Pinto.
From April 11th to 17th, 2022, Minister Fidelis Magalhães led a high-level delegation, comprising 14 representatives from various government entities, which travelled to Washington, United States of America (USA), for the negotiations of the compact agreement with the MCC.
The signing ceremony will be attended by members of the 8th Constitutional Government, the National Parliament, Municipal Authorities, community leaders, representatives of public organizations, civil society and the private sector, the diplomatic corps and development partners. END - 13 of July of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 13th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 13th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, referring to the Organic Statute of the Falintil Unit, establishing its structure and attributions. The Falintil Unit, integrated into the central structure of FALINTIL-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste Defence Forces), is a Special Operations Unit. Its main mission is to train military personnel in the specific area of special operations and to prepare a Special Operations Force, of reduced manpower, specially organized and composed of specially selected, trained and equipped personnel, to operate under physically and psychologically demanding conditions in the fulfilment of missions that require non-conventional techniques and ways of operation.
The draft Decree-Law presented by the Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, for the creation of the public limited liability company GESPIN - Gestão de Parques Industriais, SA, was approved. To promote private initiative activity in the industrial sector, the Government intends to create this public limited company, which will be responsible for promoting, installing and managing industrial parks.
Also approved was the draft Government Resolution presented by the Vice-Prime Minister, and Minister of Planning and Territory, José Maria dos Reis, which aims to create the Interministerial Coordinating Commission for the Establishment of the Timor-Leste Engineering Laboratory, with the responsibility to present to the Council of Ministers, within three months, the Master Plan for the establishment of the Timor-Leste Engineering Laboratory. The commission, chaired by the Vice-Prime Minister, also comprises the Minister of Public Works and the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, concerning the mission to support the voter registration process in Guinea-Bissau. The approved Government Resolution appoints Lino de Jesus Torrezão as the Timor-Leste Government’s Special Representative with the Government of Guinea-Bissau to proceed with the identification of the needs of this State for the accomplishment of free and fair elections, next December 18th, 2022.
The Council of Ministers has authorised the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries to sign a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, to expand the existing framework of bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector, including the technical and scientific areas.
The Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, was authorised by the Council of Ministers to sign two memorandums of understanding with the Government of Indonesia, one in the area of trade and the other on standardization, conformity assessment and metrology.
The Council of Ministers also authorized the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva, to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Indonesia on the Cross Border Movement of Commercial Buses. This memorandum aims to support cross-border trade and cooperation between the two countries, allowing for the promotion, development and strengthening of trade, investment, tourism and cultural interchange between the two countries, through the establishment of an integrated and efficient transport system that is capable of encouraging economic growth and development in Timor-Leste, but also with benefits to Indonesia.
The Minister of Transport and Communications was also authorized to sign a memorandum of understanding between his ministry and the Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics of the Republic of Indonesia on cooperation in the field of meteorology, climatology and geophysics. The partnership foreseen in this memorandum aims to support the development of meteorology, climatology, and geophysics, an essential sector for Timor-Leste, namely in areas such as the calibration of meteorological and seismological equipment and the training of human resources.
The Council of Ministers also authorized the Minister of Transport and Communications to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia for cooperation in the area of communications and information technology. The expansion and improvement of the communications and information technology sector imply collaboration with other countries so that proactively and assertively both may increase the effectiveness of their internal and external performance and in this sense, it becomes necessary to establish bases for bilateral coordination and cooperation in the communications and information technology sector.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture, Longuinhos dos Santos, on the support measures for the movement of Timorese students attending higher education abroad to return to Timor-Leste or to go abroad in the occurrence of situations of a pandemic, epidemic, natural disaster or catastrophe, serious illness or armed conflict. With the approval of this diploma, in the event of the occurrence of the referred situations, the State will facilitate the necessary trips for the return to Timor-Leste of students, of Timorese nationality, who are actively attending higher education abroad in accredited higher education institutions, or their departure for the final destination of their higher education studies. The State will pay for the travel by air, sea or road transportation of the student during his or her return to or departure from Timor-Leste, and also for accommodation or temporary stay due to evacuations, quarantine or medical or hospital treatment.
The Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, has received authorisation to sign a project agreement with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOIKA), for the development of the project "YEES - Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Skills". Under this memorandum the Republic of Korea will make a financial contribution of six million two hundred thousand dollars, to fund the development of youth in obtaining skills, competencies and knowledge to be employed, offer services available to provide holistic support in increasing employability and help youth start or expand their businesses. The project will run for six years from 2022 to 2027 and will be implemented in four municipalities, Dili, Baucau, Ermera and Liquica.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law amending the Organic Law of the National Police of Timor-Leste. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation in the meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 25th 2022, however, due to the introduction of some changes in the final wording phase, it became necessary to submit it to a new deliberation.
The draft Decree-Law for the second amendment to Decree-Law No. 26/2021, of November 26th, as amended by Decree-Law No. 12/2022, of March 17th, on exceptional and temporary measures for health surveillance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic disease, was also approved. With this amendment, the exceptional measures are extended until November 13th, 2022.
Lastly, the Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, as the National Authority for Expo Dubai 2020 (ANED-TL) and the General Coordinator for Expo Dubai 2020, Manuel Vong, made a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the results of Timor-Leste participation in Dubai Expo 2020. Timor-Leste pavilion, in the first world exposition taking place in the Middle East, was visited by more than 340 thousand people, between October 1st and March 31st 2022. During this period, several marketing and promotion actions were carried out to promote investment in Timor-Leste, in the areas of tourism and hospitality, agriculture and fisheries, connectivity, logistics and transport and oil, gas and minerals. There were also lectures and meetings with middle eastern rulers and private sector representatives. During the event, an air services agreement was also signed with the Government of the United Arab Emirates. END
