Media Releases
- 17 of September of 2019Day-off on 20 September 2019 on the occasion of the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of INTERFET's arrival in Timor-LestePresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Day-off on 20 September 2019 on the occasion of the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of INTERFET's arrival in Timor-Leste
available soon - 17 of September of 2019Construction of the Tibar Bay PortPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Construction of the Tibar Bay Port
Government officials responsible for the Tibar Bay Port Project, the acting Minister for Planning and Strategic Investment, the acting Minister of Finance, the Minister of Public Works and the Minister of Transport and Communications, aware of and concerned with the impact that the suspension of works on the quarry operated and managed by China Harbor Timor, Lda. may have on the construction of the Tibar Bay Port, gathered information about the precautionary measure ordered by the Dili District Court regarding the plot of land allocated to the quarry.
This project is of public interest, is part of the National Strategic Development Plan for Timor-Leste 2011-2030 and has been supported and promoted by the various Constitutional Governments.
Upon analysing the case, it was found that the court ordered the injunction over the wrong plot of land, i.e., a provisional restoration of possession was petitioned over one plot and the court ordered the injunction over another plot, which created confusion and astonishment for everyone, including the Government itself.
According to the case, the petition concerns a plot that is located over 1 (one) KM away from the plot that was the object of the injunction ordered by the court. Such error determined that access to the quarry be sealed, which prevented the works to progress, with serious risks to the construction of the Tibar Bay Port, which could end up without the supply of the necessary building materials.
According to the information by the National Directorate for Land and Property and Cadastre Services, the plot that was wrongly executed is a plot which still has its ownership under disputed by the State itself and is being verified by the Ministry of Justice.
In view of these facts, the Government decided to act, on behalf of the State and in the defence of the public interest, to alert the Court to the error that was committed, so that the injunction be reviewed and declared null and the immediate removal of fences and / or any other means preventing access to the quarry is ordered.
China Harbor Timor, Lda, which is a subcontractor to the Tibar Bay Port concessionaire, uses the quarrying ground with the knowledge, authorisation and perfect collaboration of all relevant authorities, including the local community, Mota Ikun Hamlet Chief, the Mota Ulun Suco Chief , the Administrator of the Bazartete Administrative Post, the Administrator of the Municipality of Liquiça, the PNTL Commander in Liquiça, the National Directorate of Land and Property and Liquiça Cadastral Services, the National Petroleum and Mineral Authority (responsible for the quarry licensing), the Tibar Bay Port Project Management Unit (responsible for the implementation of the Tibar Bay Port Project), as well as the Government members responsible for the implementation of the Tibar Bay Port project and the Secretary of State for Land and Property and the Minister of Justice.
In addition to this clarification before the court, the Government will take all necessary steps to safeguard the public interest in respect of the construction of the Tibar Bay Port, even if, for this purpose, it will have to resort to expropriation measures for public utility, with the eventual payment of fair compensation, pursuant to the law and the Constitution, since the construction of the Tibar Bay Port, as a project of public interest and fundamental for national development, cannot be stopped. END - 12 of September of 2019Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of September 12, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of September 12, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and approved a vote of condolences for the death of the former President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.
In the vote of condolence, approved by the Council of Ministers, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste expresses deep regret with the news of the death of B. J. Habibie. At this moment of great consternation for the people of Indonesia, the Government of Timor-Leste presents its deepest condolences to the family of the esteemed former President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, associating themselves with their pain.
B. J. Habibie was the third President of the Republic of Indonesia in a mandate that began on the 21st of May 1998 and ended on the 20th of October 1999.
His very distinguished diplomatic capacity made him a fundamental part of the history of Timor-Leste, when he sent a request to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, on 27 January 1999, allowing the holding of a referendum in Timor-Leste. Though this referendum the Timorese people were able to exercise the right of self-determination and, by a large majority, decided for the independence of Timor-Leste in 1999.
The vote of condolence will be presented to the family of B. J. Habibie by the former President of the Republic of Timor-Leste, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. ENDS - 11 of September of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of September 11, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of September 11, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation by the Minister of State of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira and the team of experts at DLA Piper, on the options for the Civil aviation sector for Timor-Leste. The presentation aimed to show the strategic options more appropriate for the short, medium and long-term, which may be available to the Government, so as to ensure air transportation and avoid the isolation imposed by the competitive market of the airline sector.
The Minister of Defense, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, made a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the definition of a military strategic concept (CEM) for Timor-Leste. The creation of this strategic military concept has as a base the legislation in force and aims to strengthen the national Armed Forces and to enhance national security, according to the evolution of local, regional and global security.
The Council of Ministers heard a presentation by the Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, on the proposal of the Compact Development Team – Timor-Leste (CDT-TL) on the components of the program to be submitted to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This program specifically seeks to address the country's economic challenges, as jointly identified by Timor-Leste and MCC, aims to combat poverty and to raise national economic growth and its four components are: supply of clean water, sanitation and drainage; education and training; nutrition; and commercial dispute resolution.
The Council of Ministers approved a Government Resolution, presented by the Acting Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, on the definition of composition of the Political Review Committee with the aim of verifying the strategic allocation of resources towards achieving the commitments and objectives contained in the strategic documents and to assess the feasibility of the plans for the financial year 2020.
The Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, presented a proposal for a Government Resolution on the authorization to acquire service firearms for the personnel of the Scientific Police of Criminal Investigation (PCIC), which as Criminal Police force has as its mission to assist judicial authorities, develop and promote prevention, detection, investigation under its own responsibilities or those assigned to them competent judicial authorities, as well as ensuring that the national centralization of criminal information and respective operational coordination and international police cooperation.
The Council of Ministers gave full powers to the Minister of Justice for the conclusion of an agreement between the Ministry of Justice of Timor-Leste and the University of Coimbra, Portugal, for the establishment of academic, scientific and cultural cooperation, in the framework of the training of magistrates, public defenders and Timor-Leste law graduates.
The Minister of Justice also presented a proposal for a Deliberation of the Council of Ministers on the amendment of the cooperation Protocol between the Ministries of Justice of Timor-Leste and Portugal in the area of justice, signed on 25 February 2016.The proposal for Deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, seeks to amend the remuneration criteria due to technical hiring in support of judicial operation, advisories and consultations and human resources training. The amendment to the cooperation protocol will be signed by the Ministers of Justice of the two countries on 17 September.
The Government approved a proposal for Deliberation of the Council of Ministers, presented by the Acting Minister of State Administration, Abílio José Caetano, on Timor-Leste’s support to the presidential elections of Guinea-Bissau in November 2019. The Council of Ministers was responding to a request for technical and financial support for the organization and conducting of presidential Elections requested by the Guinean Government, by granting financial support in the amount of 300,000 USD dollars and by appointing Tomás do Rosário Cabral to Special representative of the Government, tasked with the mission of identifying obstacles to the organization and conducting of electoral census operations and of free and fair elections.
The Council of Ministers approved a proposal for Decree-Law on the Organic Law of the Ministry of Strategic Planning and Investment, the department responsible for the design, coordination and evaluation of the policy, defined and approved by the Council of Ministers, for the areas of promotion of economic and social development of the country through strategic and integrated planning and rationalization of available financial resources, assuming specific responsibilities on the implementation of the Strategic Development Plan.
Lastly, the Council of ministers gave full powers to the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva, to sign Air Service Agreements with the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Convention, which aims to establish and operate Air Services between and beyond their territories. ENDS
- 28 of August of 2019Signing of Production Sharing Contracts with offshore petroleum operatorsJOINT PRESS RELEASEmore
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste,
Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares
Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Acting Minister of Petroleum and Minerals,
Hermenegildo Cabral Pereira
August 28, 2019
The Government of Timor-Leste has today completed the 'transitional arrangements' process required for the Treaty between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and Australia Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea to enter into force on 30 August 2019.
Following a period of extensive consultation and negotiation, which started before the signing of the Treaty in March 2018 and continued thereafter, the Government has today signed five revised and new Production Sharing Contracts with the oil and gas companies affected by the Treaty to ensure that they will have certainty and security for affected offshore operations in the Timor Sea, across the period of transition from the Timor Sea Treaty to the new Maritime Boundaries Treaty.
The Government has also today signed further arrangements with the Australian Government on exchange of taxation information between Timor-Leste and Australia, and two Memorandums of Understanding between the institutions of the two States to allow for cooperation on petroleum related matters (specifically, on the management of the Bayu-Undan pipeline and on transfer of geological data and related cooperation).
The signing of these five Production Sharing Contracts and further arrangements with the Australian Government are necessary pre-conditions to the exchange of diplomatic notes between Timor-Leste and Australia, that will allow the Maritime Boundaries Treaty to come into force on 30 August 2019.
With this 'transitional arrangements' process complete, the Government now looks forward to the entry into force of the Maritime Boundaries Treaty in two days' time. ENDS - 28 of August of 2019Signing of Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation Agreement between Timor-Leste and AustraliaGOVERNMENT OF TIMOR-LESTE AND GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIAmore
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste,
Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia,
Senator Matthew Canavan
August 28, 2019
Signing of Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation Agreement between Timor-Leste and Australia
On 6 March 2018, Timor-Leste’s then Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister for the Delimitation of Borders and the Agent in the Conciliation, His Excellency Mr. Hermenegildo Cabral Pereira, and Australia’s then Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, signed the Treaty Between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and Australia Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea.
The Maritime Boundaries Treaty establishes permanent maritime boundaries between our two countries and a stable legal framework for the development of oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.
Since the signing of the Maritime Boundaries Treaty, our two countries have worked together, and worked with offshore petroleum operators, on transitional arrangements that will provide commercial certainty and security for all the parties across the transition from the Timor Sea Treaty to the new Maritime Boundaries Treaty.
Today, with the signing of five new and revised Production Sharing Contracts with offshore petroleum operators, the Timor-Leste Government has finalised the transitional arrangements on its side to implement the Maritime Boundaries Treaty.
The Australian Government has also recently finalised the transitional arrangements on its side to implement the Maritime Boundaries Treaty, with the passage through Australian Parliament of relevant implementing legislation.
Timor-Leste and Australia have also signed today an agreement on exchange of taxation information between the two countries, and two Memorandums of Understanding between the institutions of our two countries to allow for cooperation on petroleum-related matters.
With these arrangements finalised and signed, all necessary steps have been completed to allow an exchange of diplomatic notes between Timor-Leste and Australia to occur in two days’ time, on August 30, confirming that the Maritime Boundaries Treaty has entered into force.
Timor-Leste and Australia now look with optimism to the exchange of diplomatic notes in two days' time, to the entry into force of the Maritime Boundaries Treaty, and to a new chapter in the friendship between our two countries. ENDS - 27 of August of 2019Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 27, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and approved the proposal for a Government resolution, presented by the Acting Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Agio Pereira, concerning the appointment of the official forwarder for import and export activities related to the Bayu-Undan field. With the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty one of the projects that will transition from the current Joint Petroleum Development Area to the exclusive jurisdiction of Timor-Leste is the Bayu-UndanProject, and as such this Government resolution aims to retain the company Altus Oil & Gas Services as an official forwarder in order to minimise disruption to ongoing operations as required by international obligations assumed by the state of Timor-Leste under the Treaty.
The Council of Ministers gave full powers to the Minister of Education Youth and Sport, Dulce de Jesus Soares, to sign the PRO-Português program, a partnership between this ministry INFORDEPE and Camões, the Institute of Cooperation and language. This project aims to contribute to the consolidation of the educational system of Timor-Leste through support to professional and continuous training of teaching staff of the non-tertiary education system. This program will replace the program Formar+, which ended in December 31, 2018 and will run between 2019 and 2022. The PRO-Português project, with the realization of encompasses 520 training hours for an average of 4,300 teachers per year, during the three years of the project, aiming to ensure all teachers of the national education system reach a B2 level of linguistic proficiency in Portuguese language by the end of 2022.
As an integral part of the celebrations program for the 20th anniversary of the Popular consultation, on the morning of August 29th, religious celebrations will be held simultaneously by the five main religious confessions represented in Timor-Leste, which will be attended by members of the Eight Constitutional Government. The Catholic celebration, will take place in the Cathedral of Dili and have the presence of the Minister of Justice, the Protestant celebration will be held in the Osana Church with the presence of the Minister of Education Youth and Sport, the Minister of Public Works will accompany the Islamic ceremonies in the An-Nur Mosque, the celebrations at the Buddhist temple will be accompanied by the Vice- Minister for Strategic Development of Health and finally the Hindu ceremonies, which will take place in the temple Pura Girinatha will have on the presence of the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. ENDS - 23 of August of 2019Day-off on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of the Popular ConsultationPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Day-off on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of the Popular Consultation
The Government has decided to grant tolerance days-off during the period between the afternoon of August 26 and August 29, 2019, on the occasion of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Popular Consultation and INTERFET mission to all officials and agents of the Ministries or services under their dependency, as well as of the institutes and bodies integrated in the indirect administration of the State, to allow for the maximum participation in the commemoration activities.
This decision is based on the Law n. º 10/2005, of August 10, which establishes the days that are national holidays, the official commemorative dates and tolerance days-off. ENDS
