During its first official visit to Timor Leste, Pacific Island Development Forum’s Secretary General, François Martel, had a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Timor Leste, Rui Maria de Araujo, on 26th May 2016 in Dili.
The meeting was an opportunity to acknowledge the incredible hospitality of the people of Timor Leste and to establish closer links between PIDF and Timor Leste, which is a foundational member of PIDF. Timor Leste participated in all PIDF summits in the past three years. The Former Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was the keynote speaker in the inaugural meeting in 2013 and Timor Leste has been one of the greatest donor to PIDF to date.
PIDF SG shared the latest developments of the organisation, and invited the PM to collaborate and engage further by signing the Charter to become a full-member of PIDF.
With the special location of Timor Leste, sitting between Asia and the Pacific, and mindful of the recent history of the country, discussions revolved around the relevance of the south-south cooperation and potential areas of support for PIDF to support Timor Leste in achieving its sustainable development goals.