Government strengthens ties with Portugal and takes g7+ to Europe
The Minister for Planning and Strategic Investment, XananaGusmão, and the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Roberto Sarmento Soares, visited Portugal at the end of May to strengthen ties of cooperation and friendship between both countries and to attend the opening of an official representation of the g7+ in Europe.
The agreement to install an office of the g7+ in Lisbon was signed by the President of the Municipality of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, the General Secretary of the g7+, Hélder da Costa and ‘Eminent Person of the g7+’, Minister Xanana Gusmão.
During this three-day visit to Portugal, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation , who also participated at the signing of this agreement, conducted two meetings with members of the Portuguese Government. In the first he reassured his counterpart, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Teresa Ribeiro, that after the upcoming elections, even if there are changes in Government, “the Timorese policy and commitment regarding Portugal will not change”. Teresa Ribeiro responded assuring that “Portugal will continue to support Timor-Leste in all of its development process”. The second meeting, with the Minister for Education, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, analysed the reintroduction of the Portuguese language in Timor-Leste. The Vice-Minister highlighted the results of the 3rd National Education Congress on Education, which took place between 15 and 17 May, where the issue of language was debated.
The Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, Leovigildo Hornai, also present during this visit, was invited to participate in the conference of the Ministers for Youth and Sport, which will take place between the 27 and 30 of July, in Portugal.
The delegation visited the Emeritus Bishop of Díli and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, at the Salezian Convent in Porto. Dom Ximenes Belo praised “the maturity of the people of Timor who maintained peace and tranquillity during the presidential elections”, as well as “the Government’s effort in opening voting centres in Portugal, so that the community residing in this country may exercise their voting rights”.
The Timorese delegation was accompanied by the First Secretary of the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Portugal, Maria de Lourdes Ximenes and the Director for Affairs in Europe, Africa and Middle East, Armindo Simões.
