Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão leads delegation to Juba, South Sudan
The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Juba, South Sudan, October 16, 2011
Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão leads delegation to Juba, South Sudan
The Prime Minister, His Excellency Xanana Gusmão along with the Minister of Finance, Her Excellency Emilia Pires are leading a delegation to Juba, South Sudan this week to consolidate formal diplomatic relations between the two nations and to Chair the largest assembly of fragile states in history of the g7+.
Prime Minister Gusmão will formally extend solidarity between the two Governments and Peoples of two of the world’s newest nations in this millennium; Timor-Leste having regained autonomy of governance in 2002 and South Sudan this year in an overwhelming referendum for independence.
While one country is located in South East Asia and one in East Africa, Timor-Leste shares many similarities with South Sudan, both fought for independence and have engaged in many of the same birthing struggles for nationhood and both countries have resources to be invested to ensure a better future for their People.
Acknowledging similarities in the development process, discussing challenges and sharing solutions is one of the most vital aspects of the g7+, who will meet together in Juba, promoting unity within fragile and conflict affected States and working to define, produce and advocate vital peacebuilding and statebuilding reforms to stop conflict, build nations and end poverty.
The g7+ is thought to be the single most important political process in modern times given the countries themselves have taken ownership of identifying those processes and implementing principles necessary to emerge from fragility. For the first time, leaders from the g7+ will come together this week to consolidate governance structure, policy, and plans on the future direction of the forum to influence development architecture, and form a united voice on the global stage.
The g7+ are those States known as representative of “the bottom billion” and most affected by climate change, external financial shocks, global food crisis and poverty. Until 2010, these nations have been unrepresented formally, with little opportunity or colleagueship to promote, reform or participate in global dynamics for their countries and their People. The forum came together as the need for the world’s most vulnerable to have one united voice against the tide of donors, international aid organizations, and world dominates who mark global dynamics, grew even more imperative given international conditions; mobilizing an agenda of peacebuilding, statebuilding and reforming aid practices to shift the paradigm of development and produce tangible results is at the forefront of the g7+ agenda.
The g7+ has developed in concert with development partners a “New Deal” for aid based on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding goals which will be confirmed by consensus this week in Juba. The “New Deal” has been endorsed at the highest political level by donors, international aid organizations and Donor Countries through the International Dialogue of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (ID) over the last two years.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão has been a the advocate of ensuring the g7+ went from conception to fruition by hosting the g7+ Secretariat in the Timor-Leste Government and making the nation a centrepoint to serve all fragile and conflict affected countries.
