Mr. President elect and dear friend,

On the occasion of your election as President of the Republic of East Timor, I wish to warmly congratulate you, on behalf of the People of Portugal and in my own name, and send our best wishes for your success in the performance of the heightened duties with which the People of Timor have entrusted you.

The People of Timor have expressed their deep attachment to the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, as well as their unshakeable confidence in Your Excellency to continue the building of a sovereign, prosperous and equitable nation.

Your experience and knowledge of the realities of the country will greatly contribute, I am certain, for the exercise of the high office you have been called upon to perform.

Your Excellency has been a privileged witness, since the days when this election might have seemed to many an unreachable reality, of the support that the cause of freedom and dignity of the People of Timor have always merited from Portugal and the Portuguese, and how the paths that led to it were trodden by both the Portuguese and the Timorese. I wish you to know that both Your Excellency and our kindred the People of Timor can continue counting upon my personal endeavours and those of the Portuguese to continue equitably contributing to help the nation of East Timor to conquer the challenges with which it is faced.
I again extend my sincere congratulations and ask you, Mr. President and dear friend, to accept my best wishes for your personal well-being and for the growing progress of our sister nation and the People of East Timor.

Aníbal Cavaco Silva