9th Constitutional Government marks the first month in office
The first month of the 9th Constitutional Government’s mandate ended yesterday, July 31st, 2023, with the unanimous endorsement of the Government Programme and the beginning of the preparation of the Amending Budget marking the start of the work. During this period, the 9th Government received congratulations from several friendly countries and partner organisations and welcomed the visit of the Prime Minister of Portugal and members of the Governments of Australia, China, Japan and Singapore. 
On July 1st, 2023, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was sworn in as Prime Minister of the 9th Constitutional Government, together with the other members of the Executive. In his inauguration speech, Xanana Gusmão presented the urgent priorities and commitments for the mandate and explained that “the organic structure of the 9th Government is embodied in the philosophy of resuming the continuity of the progress achieved until 2017 and of leading, once again, the public administration to the objectives of efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of services to the people and in the provision of responsibilities to the State”.
Among the priorities established by the 9th Constitutional Government, economic diversification and job creation stand out, focusing on agriculture, fisheries, livestock, tourism and the establishment of small and medium industries, aiming to reduce dependence on imports and promote self-sustainable development.
The Government proposes to invest effectively and efficiently in three key areas – social capital, infrastructure development and economic development – underpinned by an institutional framework that promotes competence, professionalism, honesty and transparency.
Soon after the inauguration, days of intense work followed to finalise the 9th Constitutional Government's Programme. A comprehensive and ambitious programme addressing existing challenges and promoting the country's progress was submitted to the National Parliament on July 13th. On July 18th and 19th, the Programme of the 9th Government was endorsed unanimously by the members of the National Parliament. During his presentation, the Prime Minister explained the broad lines of the Government Programme for the period 2023-2028, which encompasses six main commitments, the reaffirmation of the democratic rule of law, the development of social capital, the development of infrastructure, the development of the economy, government consolidation and good governance and the fight against corruption. 
With the approval of the Programme, the Government focused on elaborating its organic structure. On July 28th, the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, promulgated Decree-Law No. 46/2023 of July 27th, which approves the Organic Structure of the 9th Constitutional Government. The organic structure of the 9th Constitutional Government defines the duties pursued by each of the Ministries. It assigns the powers to the Government members according to the priorities set out in its Programme.
During this period, the Government also started the preparation of the 2023 Amending Budget, with the primary objective of creating the necessary conditions to fulfil the commitments established by the Prime Minister, in his inauguration speech, for the first 120 days of governance. Between July 28th and 30th, the Government held individual meetings with all Ministries, Secretariats of State, institutions and state bodies through the Budget Review Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. These meetings aimed to identify the budgetary priorities of each institution and assess the specific funding needs to enable government actions in the second half of 2023. The Ministry of Finance is now finalising the draft Amending Budget Bill. It is expected to be approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on August 9th, to be submitted to the National Parliament the following day. 
It was also an intense month in terms of foreign policy and cooperation. During the first month of the mandate of the 9th Constitutional Government, Timor-Leste received the visit of the Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic, Mr António Costa, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr Takei Shunsuke, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, Ms Penny Wong, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, Mr Vivian Balakrishnan, and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Mr Nong Rong. Several representatives of the diplomatic corps and development partners also met with the Prime Minister and members of the Government to strengthen bilateral relations and learn about the Executive's priorities.
Between July 11th and 14th, 2023, Timor-Leste, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, attended the 56th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other related meetings, which took place in the Indonesian capital. 
The first weeks of the mandate were also characterised by floods and landslides caused by torrential rains that ravaged nine of the country's 14 municipalities. The Government responded by providing several tonnes of food, other non-food items and building materials to the population of the affected municipalities. State entities were also on the ground carrying out work to normalise roads and bridges damaged by floods and landslides.
Also, on July 21st, the World Health Organisation for South-East Asia announced that Timor-Leste was one of two countries in Southeast Asia to eradicate rubella cases in its territory.
