Government of Timor-Leste

The Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, participated on September 2^nd, 2024, in Bali, Indonesia, in the High-Level Plenary Session on Building Bridges: Unlocking the Full Potential of the Global South through Multisectoral Partnerships and the Joint Leaders' Session of the High-Level Forum on Multisectoral l Partnerships.

During the High-Level Forum on Multisectoral Partnerships, the Prime Minister stressed the need to reformulate approaches to international cooperation, especially among the countries of the Global South, in order to tackle current challenges such as inequality, climate change and the global financial architecture, which continues to harm developing countries. “We must explore new models of partnership and cooperation to support Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States,” ensuring that these partnerships ‘respect our sovereignty, our solidarity and the spirit of Bandung,’ said the Prime Minister.

At the High-Level Plenary Session on Building Bridges, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of strengthening cooperation among countries of the Global South to tackle global challenges, stressing that building multisectoral partnerships is key to unlocking the potential of these countries. “We live in a world of uncertainty, complexity and technological change. It is also a world where poverty and inequality are entrenched, a world experiencing an environmental crisis, a world where human suffering is widespread. A world where conflicts proliferate - from Gaza to Ukraine, from Yemen to Sudan and from Haiti to a series of fragile countries around the world,” said Xanana Gusmão.

The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of peace and cooperation between fragile states as an essential requirement for development, emphasizing that “an important lesson we have learned from our history is the immense power of cooperation between fragile states”. In this context, he recalled that “Timor-Leste initiated the creation of the g7+, a group of 20 fragile countries committed to supporting each other in the search for resilience and peace”.

Xanana Gusmão also highlighted the “fundamental role [of Indonesia] in supporting South-South Cooperation” since the historic Bandung Conference in 1955, and stressed that “since then, the countries of the South have ensured that the principles enshrined in the spirit of Bandung are integrated into international treaties and multilateral cooperation frameworks”.

In closing his speech at the Joint Leaders' Session of the High-Level Forum on Multi-Sectoral Partnerships, the Prime Minister concluded: “Together, we can reshape the global development agenda, unlock the full potential of the Global South and build an international system that truly serves the needs of all nations.”