The Prime Minister of East Timor, Xanana Gusmão, will pay an official visit to Portugal next week after participating in the summit between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he announced today.
“Next Monday, I travel to Russia. This trip is related to ASEAN. I have previously participated in ASEAN-Japan and ASEAN-Australia meetings when East Timor was not yet a member. Now that we are members of ASEAN, I absolutely have to be present,” stated the leader of the Timorese executive. Xanana Gusmão spoke to journalists following his weekly meeting with Timorese President José Ramos-Horta, which took place at the Presidential Palace in Dili.
Following his itinerary in Russia, the Timorese Prime Minister announced he will travel to Portugal, without specifying the exact day, to participate in a conference and a meeting with East Timorese students currently studying law at various faculties across the European country.
“We really need to improve the justice system,” he asserted. “It will not be immediate, but in the medium term, we must improve this area, because one of our greatest challenges is the Portuguese language,” Gusmão added, highlighting linguistic proficiency as a core element of institutional reinforcement.
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The head of government also informed that he intends to meet with Portuguese judicial authorities to request institutional support for East Timor. “I will also meet with the Prosecutor General and with the President of the Supreme Court in Lisbon,” he explained.
According to Xanana Gusmão, the objective is to raise awareness among these entities regarding the specific support needed by the nation, rather than focusing on signing large formal agreements. “We want to avoid situations where our judges read documents without fully understanding the content and end up just signing them.”
The national leader recognized that the issue of justice is of extreme importance for East Timor’s development. In 2024, East Timor sent its first cohort of 50 students to attend law school in Portugal, following the signature of cooperation protocols with five Portuguese faculties.
These strategic protocols were signed with the law schools of the Catholic University, University of Minho, University of Lisbon, University of Porto, and Nova University of Lisbon. The comprehensive project aims to train between 250 and 300 jurists in Portugal and will be fully funded by East Timor, representing an initial investment of approximately 14.9 million euros through 2028.
