CPLP Ministers of Interior and Home Affairs meet in Díli
Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, October 27th, 2015
CPLP Ministers of Interior and Home Affairs meet in Díli
Yesterday, the Ministers of Interior and Home Affairs of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries [CPLP] gathered in Díli for their 4th biennial meeting, seeking to develop and strengthen cooperation in the area of internal security. The meeting, chaired by Timor-Leste’s Minister of the Interior, Longuinhos Monteiro, began with a speech delivered by the Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo.
The Prime Minister Araújo welcomed representatives from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Principe, remarking that in today’s environment countries face increasingly diverse challenges in the security sector. Security, he explained is about “human safety as well as country security and the fight against illegal activities and economic crime, which contributes to stability at political, economic and social level.”
He declared that in this regard “Timor-Leste has been walking in the right path, which is why the country enjoys today an environment of security that, together with the effort to attract national and foreign investment, constitutes a cornerstone of Timor-Leste’s development.”
During today’s meeting, which comes at the end of a serious of technical workshops convened since the 20th of October, participants discussed Crime Prevention and Proximity Policing, Protecting Nature and the Environment, the Civilian Management of Crises, Weapons and Explosives, Criminal Investigation, Preventing and Combating Illegal Immigration and Human Trafficking, Observing the Migration Flows and the Network of Female Police Officers.
The Díli Declaration was signed at the conclusion of the meeting setting out the decisions and commitments of the group including specific actions in the areas of Police; Migration, Foreigners and Borders; and Public Safety, Civil Protection and Fire.
Spokesperson for the Sixth Constitutional Government, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “cooperation in the area of security along with the sharing of experiences and perspectives over these past days helps all of our CPLP countries as we seek to maintain peace, uphold the rule of law, respect the integrity of our citizens and promote development. As Timor-Leste said so persistently in the development of the new Sustainable Development Goals, peace is necessary for the positive development of all societies and economies.”
