Prime Minister appointed to the g7+ Advisory Board during Official Visit to Togo
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, June 2, 2014
Prime Minister appointed to the g7+ Advisory Board during Official Visit to Togo
The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, has been appointed by unanimous vote to the Advisory Board of the g7+ during the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the g7+ held in Lomé, Togo. The Advisory Board has been envisioned as a group of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding champions who can guide the g7+ and be activated as advocates and mediators as circumstances require. The Prime Minister is the first person appointed to this Board.
At the meeting, held on the 29th and 30th of May, Timor-Leste relinquished it’s role as Chair of the g7+ and a new Chair, Sierra Leone, was appointed. Sierra Leone will be well represented by H.E. Kaifala Marah, Minister of Finance and Economic Development of the Republic of Sierra Leone. g7+ Ministers at the meeting expressed their gratitude for the efforts and commitment of Timor-Leste in establishing and driving the group over the first four years of its history. They applauded the role of the outgoing Chair H.E. Emilia Pires and the guiding presence of Prime Minister Gusmão. The group appointed Minister Pires as a Special Envoy of the g7+ and asked her to continue in a role of high-level public advocacy and education.
During his visit to Togo the Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with the President of Togo, H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé and the Prime Minister of Togo H.E. Arthème Séléagodji Ahoomey-Zunu. In these meetings they discussed the bilateral relationship of Togo and Timor-Leste, touching on issues including peace, reconciliation, development and natural resource management.
Prior to the visit to Togo the Prime Minister, who also holds the role of Minister of Defence and Security, undertook a working visit to Portugal and participated in the 15th Meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries [CPLP]. Mr. Gusmão has now left Togo and is travelling to Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde before returning home. The visits to these countries will allow the Prime Minister to further strengthen mutual bonds of friendship and update heads of Government and Heads of State regarding the upcoming meetings in Dili as Timor-Leste assumes the Presidency of the CPLP in July. Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe are fellow members of the g7+.
The Prime Minister and his delegation will return to Timor-Leste on the 13th of June.
