Government of Timor-Leste

On November 8^th, 2023, the Minister for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, held three bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting, which runs until November 10^th, 2023, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. 

Minister Agio Pereira met at the first meeting with Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Secretary General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). At this meeting, they discussed the work of this organisation, of which Timor-Leste is a member. The OACPS Secretary-General also said that Timor-Leste would chair the OACPS Council of Ministers and co-chair the joint ministerial session between the OACP and the European Union (EU), which will take place in Samoa on 14 and 15 November. The new Partnership Agreement between the EU and OACPS will be signed on this occasion. The Samoa Agreement, as it is called, will succeed the previous Cotonou Agreement. The agreement consists of a common basis and three regional protocols designed to meet the specific needs of the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions. 

This was followed by a meeting with Giorgio Silli, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Government of Italy, where they discussed the bonds of friendship that unite Italy and Timor-Leste and issues related to bilateral cooperation.

In the last meeting of the day, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers met with Pat Conroy, Minister for International Development and the Pacific of the Government of Australia. During the meeting, the Ministers discussed Pat Conroy's long-standing emotional connection as an activist for the Timorese cause during the struggle for national liberation. 

Given that Pat Conroy is responsible for the Australian Government's Pacific and Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) programmes and the seasonal work programme, one of the main themes of the meeting was labour mobility and the possibility of increasing the number of Timorese workers participating in this programme, as well as the desire to broaden the scope of the Labour Mobility Programmes to include technical and skilled areas, such as hospitality.

At these meetings, Minister Agio Pereira also presented the 9th Constitutional Government's main priorities for its term of office.