Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, July 29th, 2016
Government Launches first phase of National News Agency of Timor-Leste
The Government has fulfilled another part of its Program with the launching of the first phase of the National News Agency of Timor-Leste and its associated website www.antil.tl. Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, explained that the agency was a way of expanding the means for collecting and socializing information on the country throughout the national territory and internationally, when he spoke at the official launch ceremony in Dili on the 27th of July.
Secretary of State for Social Communication, H.E. Nélio Isaac Sarmento, noted that the vision of the agency was to be a ‘trend setting’ national source of quality news and credible information, to meet the needs of people in the ‘information age’. It’s creation was flagged in the Government Program in March 2015, approved by the Council of Ministers on the 3rd of February 2016 and set out in the Journal of the Republic in March 2016.
Both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State explained at the launch that this was only the beginning of the agency, with a work plan in place to lift human and technological capacity. National and Municipal news content will be produced by the Agency’s staff.
The website unveiled at the launch features text, photos and video streaming, with content available in Tetum, Portuguese and English. Content is also available through mobile web applications for viewing on smart phones.
Spokesperson, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “the launch of this first phase of the National News Agency of Timor-Leste sees another promise of the Sixth Constitutional Government fulfilled and marks the beginning of an expanding program to socialize information amongst the people of Timor-Leste, raising awareness and encouraging the participation of all in the development of the Nation.”