On June 26th, at the Timor-Leste embassy in Lisbon, the Minister for Planning and Strategic Investment, Gastão Francisco de Sousa, signed five cooperation protocols with the leading Portuguese Law Schools. 
The agreements were signed with Professor Isabel Capeloa Gil, Rector of the Portuguese Catholic University, Professor Joana Aguiar e Silva, Vice-Rector of the University of Minho, Professor Eduardo Vera-Cruz Pinto, Director of the Law School of the University of Lisbon, Professor Paulo Tarso Domingues, Director of the Law School of the University of Porto, Professor Vera Lúcia Raposo and Assistant Dean of the NOVA School of Law of the NOVA University of Lisbon.
The initiative, promoted by the Justice Sector Reform Working Group, coordinated by Lúcia Lobato, aims to send 50 Law students to Portugal every year for the next five years, who will, shortly, be an essential addition to the Timorese judiciary and public defender’s office.
The project to train human resources is especially aimed at the justice sector. Still, it is not limited to this sector alone since the legal services of the Timorese public administration and academia will absorb some of the trainees. The project foresees 250 to 300 lawyers trained in Portugal and will be funded entirely by Timor-Leste, with an initial investment of around 16 million dollars by 2028.