Government of Timor-Leste

On 10 May, 2013 the Government of Timor-Leste, represented by its Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications, Flávio Cardoso Neves, welcomed the first flight of Sriwijava Air at the Nicolau Lobato International Airport. This airline company is flying to Timor-Leste for the first time, covering the route Dili-Denpassar-Jakarta and back.

“When I joined the Government the possibility to have these flights by Sriwijaya was still unknown. Today this has become a reality and both Merpati and Sriwijaya aircrafts are here, side-by-side, and this is owed to the cooperation between the Governments of Timor-Leste and Indonesia”, Flávio Cardoso Neves stated.

Sriwijaya Air Commissioner, Sunario Supratono, wanted to stress in his speech that “I have always trusted in the cooperation and in the good relationship with the neighbouring country, Timor-Leste”.

“We had to wait for the Timorese Government to authorise Sriwijaya Air to fly this route. We are very happy for this opportunity and decided to present ourselves to His Excellency Prime Minister Kay Rala Zanana Gusmão and to other members of the Government, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Minister of Transports and Communications, and also the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Indonesia, in order to materialise this cooperation we are witnessing to today”, the Indonesian commissioner informed.

Apart from the already mentioned entities, also in attendance were the First Lady, Isabel Ferreira, the minister of Commerce, Industry and Environment, António da Conceição, the Secretary of State for ASEAN Affairs, Roberto Soares, the Indonesian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Primanto Hendra Susmoro, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as the Director and the pilot of Sriwijaya Air.