Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak meets with Australian counterpart
The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, attended a working lunch hosted by his counterpart, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, held on February 8th, 2023, at the premises dedicated to the Head of the Australia Government (House of Government), next to the Australian Parliament, in the city of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, as part of his official visit to this country.
Besides the Heads of Government of both countries, the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, the Timorese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Magno, the Ambassador of Timor-Leste in Canberra, Inês Almeida, and the Ambassador of Australia in Timor-Leste, Bill Costello also attended the event.
During lunch, the Timorese Prime Minister acknowledged the warm and hospitable welcome offered to all members of the delegation and conveyed his deep gratitude, on behalf of the Government and Timorese people, for all the support received from the Australian Government, during the last 20 years of diplomatic relations, with special appreciation and gratitude for the support received in times of crisis, namely in 1999, 2006 and 2020 or 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and natural disasters that ravaged our country.
The Prime Minister also extended his appreciation to all health professionals and humanitarian workers who helped the victims of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the floods, which left a heavy legacy of destruction.
Taur Matan Ruak also made a summary of the general situation in Timor-Leste (shared values and principles, democracy, poverty reduction, combating malnutrition and improving food security) and discussed some issues of Cooperation and strategic partnership between the two Governments within the scope of three fundamental points:
1) Economic Prosperity, with emphasis on infrastructure support, labour mobility and the development of the Greater Sunrise project;
2) Cooperation in Defence and Security, with emphasis on the renewal of the strategic partnership in security, including maritime security, capacity building and training of human resources and the renewal of the Timor-Leste National Police Development Programme, known as TLPDP; and
3) Regional Cooperation, with emphasis on Australian financial and technical support, in the process of preparing the condition and criteria for Timor-Leste’s accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
