H.E. Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão visits Australia
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, March 23, 2015
H.E. Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão visits Australia
His Excellency Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão has returned from a short working visit to Australia. In a busy schedule of appointments with senior political figures, university students, friends of Timor-Leste and media the Minister firmly advocated for the national interest of Timor-Leste.
Last week, on Monday, meetings in Canberra were conducted with the Foreign Minister of Australia the Honourable Julie Bishop, Speaker of the House the Honourable Bronwyn Bishop, Leader of the Opposition the Honourable Bill Shorten, Shadow Foreign Minister the Honourable Tanya Plibersek and Shadow Attorney General the Honourable Mark Dreyfus. Minister Gusmão was introduced to members of the National Parliament during Question Time at the Australian Parliament House.
In the afternoon the Honourable Dr. Sharman Stone, Chair of the Australia Timor-Leste Parliamentary Group, hosted the launch of Raising a Nation, a book containing a collection of the speeches of Xanana Gusmão from the period 2011 – 2014. At this event the Minister spoke of his optimism for the future of Timor-Leste noting “We have a plan, we have targets, and we now have a renewed focus on implementation.” He said he was less optimistic about the global situation explaining that what is needed is “a true global partnership, one based on co-operation and mutual respect, where all nations, respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
In the evening a keynote speech entitled Political Transition and National Unity: the Timor-Leste Story was delivered by the Minister to over 700 participants at the Australian National University in Canberra. In this moving address the Minister spoke on topics ranging from peace and reconciliation in developing countries to the maritime boundary issue between Australia and Timor-Leste.
Travelling to Melbourne, Minister Gusmão met with the Premier of the State of Victoria, the Honourable Daniel Andrews, and senior members of Government, to discuss the ongoing cooperation between Victoria and Timor-Leste. At the conclusion of this meeting former Prime Minister Gusmão was delighted to have an unexpected greeting from the Honourable John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia.
On Tuesday evening last week the Minister addressed an event hosted by the Monash Sustainability Institute at the Monash University Law Chambers, highlighting the need for peacebuilding and statebuilding to be prioritized in countries emerging from conflict.
During the visit to Canberra and Melbourne Minister Gusmão conducted several interviews with Australian media for print, radio and television.
