Media Releases
- 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
available soon - 09 of August of 2019Day Off on the 12th of August of 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Day Off on the 12th of August of 2019
Law no. 10/2005, of August 10, in the wording defined by Law no. 3/2016, of May 25, establishes the days that are national holidays, the official commemorative dates and the other circumstances in which tolerance days-off may be granted.
Thus, considering the provision in paragraph c) of nº 2 of article 7, and in paragraph d) of nº 6 of that article, the Government decided to grant a tolerance day-off next Monday, August 12, on the occasion of the commemoration of Idul Adha, for 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.
Idul Adha, also called the "Sacrifice Feast" or "Bakr-Eid", is a celebration which commemorates the sacrifice of Abraham, and marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. It is celebrated from the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah (last month of the lunar year in the Islamic calendar) ENDS 
07 of August of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 7, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 7, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, concerning the first "census on progress in the national agricultural sector”. The "Agricultural Census" aims to collect data from the agriculture sector to define a policy and strategy for the sector, to support the national Agriculture Program of the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, to develop the indicator of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) - Zero hunger and sustainable agriculture, provide statistical data on the sector at the administrative level of juice and provide a framework of the national agricultural sector. The data collection will take place from August 12 to October 12, 2019. The final report will be released in April 2020 and the results will be disseminated at the municipal level between May and June 2020. The "Agricultural Census" team includes 1 292 interviewers, 646 GPS operators and 646 supervisors, for a total of 2 584 people from all over the country, of which 36.8% are women.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares, presented to the Council of Ministers the progress report on the accession process of Timor-Leste to ASEAN. The accession of Timor-Leste is considered a priority in the context of foreign policy and will represent a positive impact on national development, with significant economic and social benefits. The year 2019 should be decisive for a positive assessment of Timor-Leste's capacity to comply with the requirements of the three pillars of ASEAN, and consequently accession as a Member State. After the visit of the largest ever delegation of Timor-Leste to the ASEAN secretariat, between the 22nd and the 24th of July 2019, Timor-Leste will receive the exploratory mission of ASEAN, between the 3rd and the 7th of September, representing the activity with the most impact in Timor-Leste's accession process, since the formal submission of the application in 2011.
The Acting Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, presented the proposal for Decree-Law on 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. In this way, the structure and attributions of some of the central services of the customs authority are amended to restructure and reformulate their tasks and competences in order to better respond to the needs and ensure the effective and efficient provision of services to citizens. The present 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. This proposal will again be analyzed at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, awaiting the opinion of the Civil Service Commission.
The Acting Minister of Finance also presented the proposal of Decree-law, concerning the First Amendment to the organic structure of the Tax Authority. The present diploma shall amend the structure and attributions of the central services of the Tax Authority, 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 and contracting and subcontractor of petroleum tax inspection and mineral tax inspection. This proposal will again be analyzed at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, awaiting the opinion of the Civil Service Commission. ENDS- 05 of August of 2019National Holiday on the Occasion of the Celebration of Idul Adha 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
National Holiday on the Occasion of the Celebration of Idul Adha - 02 of August of 2019Timor-Leste Welcomes the Statement from the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Recognising Progress to ASEAN AccessionPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Timor-Leste Welcomes the Statement from the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Recognising Progress to ASEAN Accession
Timor-Leste, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, welcomes the Joint Communiqué of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Minister’s Meeting on 31 July 2019 in Bangkok.
Timor-Leste wishes to thank the ASEAN Member States – especially Thailand – for the warm hospitality during our delegation’s visit to Bangkok and recognises that the outcome of the meeting continues to build clear momentum towards our accession to ASEAN.
As confirmed in the Joint Communiqué, Timor-Leste looks forward to receiving the Political-Security Fact-Finding Mission on Timor-Leste's Preparedness to Accede to ASEAN in early September.
The Government of Timor-Leste remains strongly committed to achieving a smooth ASEAN accession, and will continue to build on the great strides towards technical preparedness over coming months. ENDS
31 of July of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 31, 2019Approved:more
1 - Decree-Law on the Organic of the Ministry of Finance
2 - Fiscal ceiling and national priorities for the General State Budget (OGE) for 2020;
3 - Memorandum of Understanding between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Republic of Indonesia, on customs cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters; and
4 - Names to be awarded the "Order of Timor-Leste" on the occasion of the celebrations of the 20th Anniversary of the Popular Consultation- 24 of July of 2019Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 24, 2019Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
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
