Welcome to the page of the State Visit to East Timor

After the great success, in September 2010, of the IV Edition of the Dili Book Fair, during which an impressive quantity of 22 thousand books were sold, this V Edition, placing a further 25 thousand books at the disposal of the Timorese, represents one of Portugal’s most gratifying contributions for the promotion of the Portuguese language.

Promotion of taste for reading and dissemination of knowledge through books are indispensable factors in the progress of societies. This Book Fair is thus a complement to the effort in Portuguese language training that, since 1999, has been carried out within the framework of East Timor’s partnerships with Portugal and Brazil.

It was, anyway, thanks to this really notable effort that the percentage of young Timorese, between 15 and 24 years of age, who assert they can speak, read and write Portuguese, reached 39 per cent in 2010, a 128 per cent growth relative to 2004.

It is thus with great expectations that I view, in the terms of the agreements recently subscribed between the governments of Portugal and East Timor, that the number of Portuguese teachers training Timorese teachers will increase from 105 in 2011 to 225 at the end of the current year, and is expected to increase to 355 in 2014.

It is hence perfectly legitimate to hope that it will be possible to complete the graduation, in three years time, of the approximately 8,500 teachers that wish to enter this career, thus creating an entirely new situation in the Timorese educational system.

I do not ignore the complexity of the literacy issue for the Timorese authorities, considering the adversities suffered by this People throughout its History, particularly in the latter decades.

I am certain that East Timor will do everything in its power to continue, as until now, driving this difficult but grandiose task, which is the international assertion of the Portuguese language.

A long while ago, Monteiro Lobato, the great Brazilian writer of children’s books, stated that «nations are made with men and books».

Neither men nor women were lacking in Timor, to fight for independence and raise a Country, which many believed was utopian. The time for books has now been reached, that is, the time for the dissemination of knowledge and culture, which are indispensable to consolidate a nation and ensure social cohesion, development and the welfare of the People.

This Book Fair, in addition to making books available at a symbolic price to those who most need them, has also been used to launch works of reference, to supply the specific needs of the educational system. This is the case, this year, of the launching of the first “Malay/Indonesian-Portuguese Dictionary”, by Professor Geoffrey Hull.

I am thus very pleased to announce that I have taken the decision to decorate Professor Geoffrey Hull with the grade of Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator, in recognition of his contribution for the defence and valuation of the Portuguese language. Unfortunately, for health reasons, Professor Geoffrey Hull will not be able to be here today.

I want, on this occasion, to address a word of appreciation to the Prime Minister of East Timor due to the launching, during the V Book Fair, of the collection of the main speeches addressed by him in the last ten years, a publication that I anyway had the honour to jointly write an introduction.

A word also to congratulate the persons responsible for the organization of this Book Fair and to express my thanks to all who contributed towards it, especially the publishing houses, but also the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portuguese National Savings Bank) that, in the year when Banco Nacional Ultramarino (National Overseas Bank) celebrates its centenary in East Timor, emerges as one of the main sponsors of the Fair’s current edition.

Before ending, I would like to formally deliver two itinerant libraries to the Timorese authorities. This project was made possible with the use of revenues generated by the previous edition of the Book Fair. These libraries are intended to be used in the areas of the Reference Schools, an exemplary project that I take the advantage to praise in the person of Minister João Câncio.

Thank you.