Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Mister President, Excellency,
Honourable Authorities,
Distinguished Guests,

We are especially pleased to welcome Your Excellency to Portugal, in this your first Official Visit to our country as President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor.

Your Excellency is well acquainted with the bonds of deep friendship which link Portugal and East Timor, based on a common historical path, on secular conviviality and, more recently, on a fight shared by the recognition of the right of East Timor to become included in the congregation of free and sovereign nations.

We accompanied as if our own the difficult moments lived by the internal resistance. We supported whoever, externally, battled for the same cause. We always defended, in the international forums which we attended – and did so many times, almost alone – Timor’s right to freedom and to the sovereign governance of its destiny.

As very seldom in our recent past, we filled the streets, composed chants and held our hands for an ultimate appeal to universal conscience and, later, to celebrate with emotion the victory of the respect for the will that a sister country had expressed, against all adversity, in the ballots of democracy.

We well know that the fight to sensitize the world’s public opinion on behalf of the cause of East Timor was a slow and arduous process. Your Excellency was one of the more salient players, one of the voices and one of the more visible faces of this battle. With firmness and knowledge, Your Excellency decisively contributed to make possible the international recognition that the cause of East Timor so deeply required. A recognition which would later be rewarded by the very just attribution of the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1996, jointly with that other remarkable Timorese, the Reverend Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo.




Mister President,

This visit takes place at a particularly important time for the democratic route of East Timor and for the relations between our two countries.

The celebration of the 5th anniversary of the independence of East Timor was held on May 20 last. The electoral act which led to Your Excellency’s election commenced almost at the same time, and a new government was installed following the legislative elections. The Timorese massively demonstrated, once again, their fondness for the values of freedom and democracy.

These elections were particularly significant, since they were held following a period of instability which it seemed could compromise everything. A period that surprised whoever believed that peace, reconciliation and democracy were conquests which would not be liable to regress. What experience demonstrated was that the building of a democratic, tolerant and inclusive society is an every day task, which must be stimulated and protected by all concerned.

Your Excellency has emphasized that, once the period of the electoral dispute was past, the main task would be that of governing, to ensure the resolution of the real problems of the people. That is, in effect, the best guarantee for democratic stability, for the State’s integrity, for the security and the economic and social progress of the people.

Mister President,

Portugal’s solidarity with East Timor did not end on May 20, 2002.

Portugal was one of the countries that contributed, from the very first moment, to the current United Nations mission in East Timor, in answer to the request that the Timorese authorities addressed us at a particularly difficult time.

It is a question of pride for all Portuguese that the Timorese people and the authorities show great fondness for the forces of the National Republican Guard and Security Police serving there, recognizing their exemplary contribution towards the security and stability of East Timor.

But it is not solely in regard to security that Portugal’s support for East Timor makes itself felt.

Portugal is today the largest cooperation partner of East Timor, and Timor is the main destination of our public aid for development. The priority sectors in Portuguese cooperation have been the teaching of Portuguese language, education, and institutional capability, particularly in the area of justice.

Portuguese language, a symbol of the East Timor fight for freedom is today, alongside Tetum, the official language of the Country. Its choice resulted from a sovereign decision, to which we are very sensitive.

As Virgílio Ferreira said: “A language is the place from which the world is viewed and in which the limits of our thoughts and feelings are drawn”. We believe that the Portuguese language will continue to be a factor of prime importance in the structuring and in the strengthening of the national identity of East Timor.

In the global world in which we live, the Portuguese language, apart from being an identity factor for more than 200 million people spread around the five continents, is a powerful tool of international assertion, not only for East Timor, but for the eight States belonging to the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries).

The promotion of education and justice is also of vital importance for the future of East Timor. The access to education and the preparation of youngsters for the challenges of the future is the best legacy that the current leaders can leave for the coming generations. Likewise, only an independent, fast and effective judiciary system can help to build the pillars of a democratic Rule of Law, providing the necessary confidence for the economic and social progress of the country.

I want to emphasize, in this regard, the presence in East Timor of nearly two hundred Portuguese teachers, as well as approximately twenty jurists, who have accomplished their tasks with dedication, personal sacrifice and great professionalism. I want to assure you, Mr. President, that we give great importance to the continuity of our cooperation with East Timor in these strategic areas.

Economic development and creation of employment are other priority areas for East Timor. We are pleased to see represented here today some of the Portuguese enterprises which have been pioneer of Portuguese investment in Timor. It is necessary that others follow their example. I hope, Mister President that your visit may lead to results in this terrain as well.

Mister President,

As proven by these 5 years of independence of East Timor, the building of a sovereign, democratic and prosperous nation is a long and demanding route, but also passionate and exciting. In this difficult pathway, the decisions taken in the present will have strong implications, especially for the coming generations.

The vast experience and the full knowledge that Your Excellency has in the area of governance, of the realities of East Timor, as well as in international relations, will surely be an inestimable added value to conquer the challenges that the country has to face.

Your Excellency and the Timorese will always find in Portugal a friend and an ally, willing to contribute to the progress of East Timor and to the building of the democratic State wanted by the Timorese. A State that will guarantee their rights and protect their freedom.

The consistency of the bonds that History wove between Portugal and East Timor, the language and values we share provide us with the bases on which rests a relationship which embraces the future with confidence.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is in the name of this future that I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health of President José Ramos Horta, to the prosperity of the Timorese People and to the bonds that link Portugal to East Timor.