Government of Timor-Leste

Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, on behalf of the Timor-Leste Government, received 300 thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, offered by the Australian Government. The vaccines were symbolically handed over by Ambassador Peter Roberts, at a handover ceremony, held this Wednesday, at the SAMES building, in Kampung Alor, Dili.

In his speech, the Head of Government expressed his satisfaction because for the first time Timor-Leste received a large quantity of the vaccine batches, after the official request made to his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, last April. The Prime Minister took this opportunity to, on behalf of the State and the people of Timor-Leste, thank the Canberra Government, and especially his counterpart, Scott Morrison and Ambassador Peter Roberts, for this donation.

 “Today, for the first time, we received 300,000 doses of the vaccine at once. This is only possible because we are friendly countries. Donors are here to contribute and help us achieve our goals. Therefore, on my own behalf, on behalf of the 8th Constitutional Government, the State and the People of Timor-Leste, I would like to express my very special thanks to the Government of Australia, and especially to my friend, the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Ambassador Peter Roberts, for their cooperation. I know that Australia has guaranteed us the availability of 1.5 million doses until the end of this year, and has the possibility to continue to do so, together with other countries, through the COVAX System, Portugal, Japan, New Zealand, and other countries, that with goodwill continue to offer vaccines to Timor-Leste, so as to minimize the risks for the Timor-Leste population”, said the Head of Government.

The Head of Government also thanked the World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the support to Timor-Leste and the world, in this difficult moment, and thanked the Interministerial Commission, led by the Vice Prime Minister, for the effort to sensitize and make the whole population aware of the importance of the vaccine and the rejection of false information.

The Head of Government also thanked all the institutions that collaborate and have contributed to this effort, during the difficult times of the fight against COVID-19.

These vaccines will be used by the Government to vaccinate the populations in the border municipalities of Covalima, Bobonaro, and Oe-Cusse Ambeno, and also in the municipality of Ermera, thus seeking to increase the coverage rate of the national vaccination campaign. Ermera is currently the municipality with the highest number of positive cases of COVID-19 at the national level, and in contrast, is the one with the lowest percentage of vaccination among the 12 municipalities and the RAEOA.

The ceremony was attended by the Vice Prime Minister, Armanda Berta dos Santos, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Joaquim Amaral, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo, the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, the Vice-Minister of State Administration, Lino de Jesus Torrezão, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy, and representatives of specialized UN agencies such as UNICEF and WHO.