Media Releases
- 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 - 23 of August of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 23, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 23, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation by the Minister of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, concerning the Public Administration Reform Program. This program is part of a group of four major institutional reforms (Reform of the Public Administration, Reform of Fiscal and Financial Management, Reform of Decentralization and Legal and Judicial Reform) to be undertaken and which aims to transform and modernise the Public administration, making it more competent, innovative, responsive and transparent, public and result-oriented. The Public Administration Reform Program is organized into five components: provision of services; incentives and accountability; management and human resources development; rationalization of structures and functions; and improvement of the business environment.
The Minister of Education Youth and Sports, Dulce de Jesus Soares, held a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the Project PRO-Português, a partnership between this Ministry and 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.
The Council of Ministers also heard the presentation of the Minister of Defense, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus and representatives of the companies Damen Shipyards and Pan Union Corporation regarding the presentation of Proposals for the acquisition of marine patrol boats and other naval equipment in order to ensure effective patrolling of the national coastal areas and to respond to emergencies and disasters.
The Acting Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, presented the proposal for a Decree-law, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerning the First Amendment to the organic structure of the Customs Authority. This amendment aims, given the complexity of the duties performed by the customs authority, to make some adjustments that allow the administration to respond more transparently to the challenges it faces daily. This way, the structure and attributions of some of the central services of the customs authority are amended in order to restructure and reformulate their tasks and competences so as to better respond to the needs and ensure the effective and efficient provision of services to citizens. This diploma adds to the structure of the Customs Authority the services of planning and finance, logistics and asset management and maintenance, administration and human resources, as well as the unit of appeal. The designation of the maximum director of the customs authority, which is renamed Commissioner, is also amended.
The Acting Minister of Finance also presented the proposal for a Decree-law, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerning the First Amendment to the organic structure of the Tax Authority. Through this diploma, the structure and attributions of the central services of the Tax Authority. It also amends the services of declaration and liquidation, anti-fraud management, return and reimbursement of value added tax, management of procurement and contracts, information systems and taxpayer registration, international tax relations, communication and public relations as well as the contractor and subcontractor of petroleum and mineral tax inspection.
The Acting Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Agio Pereira, presented the proposal for a Government resolution concerning the appointment of the official forwarder for the import and export activities related to the Bayu-Undan field. Given that with the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty one of the projects that will be transiting from the current joint Petroleum Development Area to the exclusive jurisdiction of Timor-Leste is the Bayu-UndanProject, this Government resolution aims to maintain the company Altus Oil & Gas Services as the official forwarder in order to minimize disruption to ongoing operations, as required by international obligations assumed by the state of Timor-Leste under the Treaty. The proposal will continue to be analyzed and will be subject to approval at a later meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers decided to grant tolerance days off between the afternoon of August 26th to August 29th, on the occasion of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Popular consultation and the mission of INTERFET, for all the officials and agents of the Ministries and Dependent services, as well as of the institutes and bodies integrated in the indirect administration of the State, to allow maximum participation in the commemoration activities. ENDS - 16 of August of 2019Day-off on the Occasion of the Day of FALINTILPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Day-off on the Occasion of the Day of FALINTIL
The Government has decided to grant a tolerance day-off on August 20, 2019 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.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.With regard to the official commemorative dates set out in article 5, it provides in paragraph 3 which may be subject to tolerance days-off.Among the official commemorative dates, the law establishes August 20 as the official commemorative date of the day of the Armed Forces of National liberation of Timor-Leste (FALINTIL), which this year commemorate their 44th anniversary. END
- 14 of August of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 14, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 14, 2019
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