The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães and the new Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, William Terrence Costello, met for the first time, on March 10th, 2022, at the Government Palace, since the diplomat delivered his credentials to the President of the Republic, on the past February 25th.

During the meeting, the various areas of cooperation were discussed, mainly in the areas of health, social protection, good governance and infrastructure.

The new Ambassador expressed his pleasure to be in Timor-Leste and reaffirmed the objective of continuing to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Fidelis Magalhães recalled the long-standing cooperation relationship with Australia and stressed the importance of the two countries, as good neighbours, further strengthening their relations.

Among the several areas of joint work, the Governor and the diplomat referred to the cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, which has the great support of Australia, namely with the supply of vaccines.

The Diplomat praised the effort of the Government in the fight against COVID-19 and stated that Timor-Leste is an example of success.

Labour mobility was also addressed, with the perspective of an increase in the number of Timorese workers in Australia, mainly in the areas of agriculture and hospitality.

The Minister and the Ambassador also discussed the Government’s priorities concerning public administration and the various Australian cooperation programs such as the GfD program and PNDS (National Programme for Villages Development).

The Diplomat also expressed Australia’s availability to support the implementation of the fibre optic network project, to allow faster, more reliable and affordable internet services to the consumers and businesses of Timor-Leste and also to support the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport rehabilitation project.