Government of Timor-Leste

Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and

Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

Díli, 24th September, 2012

Prime Minister and high-level delegation visit New York for 67^th United Nations General Assembly

The Prime Minister, His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is visiting United States of America this week. During his short stay in New York City the Prime Minister will deliver an address to the United Nations General Assembly, co-chair a g7+ High-level Side Event and participate in a number of high-level meetings, including bilateral meetings with Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. On this visit the Prime Minister is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, His Excellency José Luís Guterres, and the Minister of Finance, Her Excellency Emília Pires.

The Prime Minister’s address to the General Assembly on the 25^th of September will be an opportunity to thank the United Nations member states, and the United Nations systems and agencies for their support of Timor-Leste over years past. The Prime Minister’s speech comes as the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste draws to a close and the mission leaves the shores of the nation by 31^st of December. The speech will celebrate the shift to a new relationship with the United Nations now that Timor-Leste has consolidated peace and focuses on state building and economic development, ushering in an era of self-sufficiency and confidence. United Nations agencies will remain as welcome partners in Timor-Leste to assist in a modality that is firmly aligned to the Strategic Development Plan.

During the visit Prime Minister Gusmão will also be addressing the Peace Building Commission and Coral Triangle Initiative in a event honoring President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

On the 26^th of September the Prime Minister will co-chair a g7+ High-level Side Event with the President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. The event is entitled The New Deal: g7+ Perspectives and Experiences and panel members include His Excellency Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Her Excellency Ms. Julia Gillard, MP, Prime Minister of Australia, His Excellency Mr. Laurent Salvador Lamothe, Prime Minister of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Gordon Darcy Lilo, MP, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, His Excellency Dr. Zalmai Rassoul Minister of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and His Excellency Mr. Christian Friis Bach, Minister of Development Cooperation, Denmark. Other g7+ Ministers will make interventions on this occasion. With such high-level representation this event has created a high level of interest in New York and will be a critical moment for increased visibility of the g7+ and the New Deal, creating further opportunities to play a role in shaping the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda.

During the visit Minister of Finance, Her Excellency Emília Pires will take part in the first meeting of the 26-member High-level Panel of the Secretary-General which will contribute directly to shaping this Development Agenda. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, His Excellency José Luís Guterres, will engage in a number of important high-level bilateral meetings to further the international relationships of Timor-Leste. He will engage in a CPLP Ministerial meeting to discuss the situation in Guinea-Bissau and make further contacts in preparation for the upcoming leadership role of Timor-Leste in the group beginning 2014.

Spokesperson of the Fifth Constitutional Government, Minister Ágio Pereira noted “This visit to the United States by Prime Minister Gusmão and the Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, signals an important shift in our relationship with the United Nations. Our consolidated environment of peace and security has allowed the resources of the United Nations Mission to be diverted to more pressing crisis situations in other parts of the world. We now continue the good work of strengthening our relationship with other United Nations member states whilst looking forward to cooperation in state building and national development work. Building a strategic and innovative partnership with the UN is part of this new era. It is a mark of our national maturity that through our work with the g7+ group and initiatives such as the New Deal Timor-Leste is now making a contribution of its own in the international setting.”