The Government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretariat of State for Defense, held on October 19, in the Office of the Secretary of State for Defense, a bilateral meeting with the delegation of the Ministry of Defense of China, led by Major-General of the Chinese Defense Forces, Quian Lihua, with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the defense area in the future.

The Secretary of State for Defense, Júlio Tomás Pinto, said that “the visit from China’s Ministry of Defense is a very important visit for Timor-Leste to ensure bilateral cooperation between the two countries. In addition, an agreement was also signed in which China offers Timor-Leste a speedboat and a mobile vehicle to repair boats from the F-FDTL Naval Component”.

Júlio Tomás Pinto stressed that “along this path, with regards to infrastructure, cooperation with China has shown positive signs. For this reason, China suggested that an external visit should also be promoted among the military leaders of the two partner countries, in the sense that both parties can share information, referring for example their experience in resolving issues related to disasters”.

This bilateral meeting was attended by the Secretary of State for Defense, Júlio Tomás Pinto, Major-General of China Defense Forces, Quian Lihua, China Ambassador in Timor-Leste, Fu Yuan Cong, Colonel Coliati, Major Adão Brito and the Director-General of the Secretariat of State for Defense, João Corte Real.