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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of September 25, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation by the Minister of the Interior, Filomeno da Paixão da Jesus, concerning the priorities of infrastructure construction of the Ministry of the Interior. Based on the vision, mission and strategic plan for the modernization of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and with objectives of strengthening the community police and ensuring the safety of the population the project, which relies on the support of New Zealand cooperation, presents a construction plan up to the year 2030 of 452 buildings of the Community Suco Police, in the 12 municipalities and in the Special Administrative Region of Oé-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA).
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Demetrius de Amaral de Carvalho, gave a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the Second National Communication of Timor-Leste under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Following the ratification of the UNFCCC in October 2006 and the Kyoto protocol in October 2008 and as a member of the UNFCCC, Timor-Leste has the obligation to submit, every four years, the National Communication to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, a report which details national progress and commitments to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Council of Ministers approved a statement of sorrow for the death of Father João de Deus Pires, deceased on 22 September, at the Guido Valadares National Hospital in Dili. His role will be remembered in the history of Timor-Leste, during the Indonesian occupation, and the Timorese will never forget the altruistic spirit of this missionary and great fighter for the freedom of the Timorese people, with whom he undertook to serve, as a priest and as a humanist. At this moment of so much grief for the religious and the Timorese people in general, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste presents its deepest condolences to the family of the esteemed Father João de Deus, the Catholic Church and the Salesian family of Timor-Leste.
The Minister of Defense, Filomeno da Paixão da Jesus, presented the proposal for deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerning the integration of members of the F-FDTL in the contingent of the Armed Forces of Portugal to be sent to the Central African Republic, within the framework of the Integrated United Nations Multidimensional Mission for the Stabilization of the Central African Republic (MINUSCA, acronym in French).
The Council of Ministers analyzed the Government resolution, presented by the Acting Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Agio Pereira and the National Petroleum and Minerals Authority of Timor-LESTE (ANPM), concerning the authorisation for the opening of public tenders for the conclusion of petroleum contracts, in order to carry out research and oil production activities, under the Petroleum Activities Act and the Petroleum Procurement Regulation. The proposal will be analysed again at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers approved the proposal for a Government resolution conferring on the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, the mandate for the negotiation of Timor-Leste’s accession to the World Trade Organization. The Council of Ministers also determined that the Minister will be supported by a delegation with representatives of the Ministries of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Health, Tourism, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Fisheries and Petroleum and Minerals.
The Council of Ministers gave full powers to the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, Dulce de Jesus Soares, for the signing of a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), for a project to strengthen science and mathematics in basic education in Timor-Leste, funded by the Government of Japan.
The Minister of Public Works, Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires and the National Procurement Commission of Timor-Leste, presented a proposal for deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, for the supply of light fuel to the electricity company of Timor-Leste (EDTL) for the years 2019 and 2020. ENDS