The Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and Security, Xanana Gusmão, was in Lisbon from the 4th to the 8th of February for a working visit where we had several meetings with policymakers, to release his book and to received a doctorate Honoris Causa.
Xanana Gusmão led a delegation that included the Minister for Justice, Dionísio Babo, the Secretary of State for Defence, Júlio Tomás Pinto, and the Counsellor Judge of the Court Appeal and the Vice President of the Superior Council for the Judiciary, the Honorable Judge Natércia Gusmão, and began his visit with a meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Miguel Macedo.
The meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs revolved mainly on the assumptions of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Migration Services of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Foreigners and Borders Department of the Portuguese Republic. The Deputy National Director of the Migration Services and the National Director signed the Protocol on Friday, the 7th of February. The Protocol aims to lay the foundation for developing cooperation at operational and technical level in matters of migration management and border control.
Pedro Passos Coelho, Prime Minister of Portugal, also welcomed his counterpart in São Bento for a meeting in which Xanana Gusmão talked about the growth of the country, about Timor-Leste in an international context and about bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries. In a press conference, Pedro Passos Coelho reiterated the support of Portugal to Timor-Leste in the various areas of cooperation (technical-military, justice, security, defence, finance, education and municipalities) as well as the Rotating Presidency of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) adding that he accepted the invitation of Xanana Gusmão to attend the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP to be held in July this year in the capital of Timor-Leste.
After the lunch offered by Pedro Passos Coelho, the Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and Security, Xanana Gusmão, was welcomed with military honours in Fort São Julião da Barra, in Oeiras, where he had a bilateral meeting with the Minister for National Defence, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, which was followed by the signing of the Programme-Framework for Military-Technical Portuguese-Timorese Cooperation for 2014-2016.
This Agreement focuses on the training component, on the increment of the Portuguese language so that training activities are more eficient and has a priority focus on the naval component.
Also on February 5th, Xanana Gusmão met with Minister for Justice, Paula Teixeira da Cruz, and the Minister for Justice of Timor-Leste, Dionísio Babo Soares, signed a General Protocol for Cooperation in the area of Justice with its counterpart.
On the second day of his visit to Portugal, the Prime Minister visited the CPLP headquarters for a meeting of the Special Committee of Permanent Coordination, where he met with the CPLP Executive Secretary, Ambassador Murade Isaac Murargy, along with other Ambassadors of the representatives of the Member States. The fact that Timor-Leste this year will take over the rotating presidency of the CPLP was in in the agenda of this meeting but Xanana Gusmão also focused on the potential of this community and called for the pursuit of joint activities so that the people of each nation can feel the benefits of CPLP.
This meeting was followed by the launch of the book “Xanana Gusmão and the first 10 years of the Timorese State Building” presented by Bishop Ximenes Belo and Rui Marques (Lusitânia Expresso) and was attended by the former President of the Portuguese Republic António Ramalho Eanes, governors, ambassadors and other figures of the Lusophone community.
On the last day of his visit to Portugal, on the 7th of February, the Prime Minister was received by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Cavaco Silva, and also received a doctorate Honoris Causa by the Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
The degree of Doctor Honoris Causa is awarded to eminent persons who have excelled in a particular area (arts, sciences, philosophy, humanities, promotion of peace, humanitarian causes among others), for its good reputation, virtue, merit or service that transcend families, individuals or institutions. The University of Lisbon, through ISCSP, recognizes the essential role of Xanana Gusmão in the process of independence, consolidation and development of the State of Timor-Leste, relevant in the areas of Political Science, Strategy, Public Administration and International Relations.
The trip to Portugal was preceded by a working visit to the United Kingdom where Xanana Gusmão met with British politicians and businessmen to discuss the progress in Timor-Leste and attract investment, also participating in the official opening of the embassy in the UK. The Prime Minister also met with Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, Professor of International Law at Cambridge University, who recently represented Timor-Leste at the International Court of Justice.
In his return to Timor-Leste, where he arrived on the 11th, the Prime Minister also travelled to Jakarta to attend other work meetings.
To view the photos of this Working Visit, please click here.