Lisboa, 20 October 2023 - Taking advantage of his trip to Portugal to participate as a speaker at the 3rd Conference on State Fragility, entitled "Global Challenges and Impacts in Countries Affected by Conflict", an event promoted by the G7+ and the Lisbon Club, His Excellency the Minister of Defence, Rear Admiral, Professor Doctor Donaciano do Rosário Costa Gomes was received on 19 October 2023 in audience by Her Excellency the Minister of National Defence of Portugal, Professor Doctor Helena Carreiras.

The audience began with Her Excellency the Minister of National Defence of Portugal welcoming and congratulating personally, His Excellency the Minister of Defence of Timor-Leste on his recent appointment.

His Excellency the Minister of Defence of East Timor thanked her for the congratulations he had received on his appointment and for the friendly words the Minister of National Defence had addressed to him.

During the hearing, their Excellencies took the opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on cooperation in the field of Defence, namely in terms of training and capacity building of human resources and the teaching of the Portuguese language.

Also on the agenda were topics such as maritime security, operational capacity, relations within the CPLP, the CIMIC project, as well as the renewal of the Quadro Programme, which is expected to be completed for signature in March 2024, the date the Minister of Defence is expected to visit East Timor. The Minister of Defence's visit to East Timor was also discussed.

Her Excellency the Minister of National Defence conveyed Portugal's full commitment, and that of her Ministry in particular, to make available the support that may be identified and agreed between the two countries in the context of cooperation, particularly in the effort to train the new Timorese leaders - higher academic and technical training.

In terms of foreign policy, the Minister of National Defence said that East Timor's membership of ASEAN was an extremely positive development, not only strategic for East Timor but also important for Portugal since East Timor could be the link between ASEAN, Portugal and the CPLP.

The audience ended with an exchange of greetings between Their Excellencies the Minister of National Defence of Portugal and His Excellency the Minister of Defence of East Timor.

The Portuguese delegation included the Director General of National Defence Policy (DGPDN), Major General Nuno Lemos Pires, and the Diplomatic Advisor, Dr Susana Audi. The Minister of Defence's delegation included the Legal Adviser and the Field Assistant and the Secretariat.

Media MD