Dili, February 9^th, 2021 – His Excellency the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, welcomed, in the audience, this Tuesday, at the Governance Palace, in Dili, the Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Peter Roberts, accompanied by an entourage from its embassy, for a detailed analysis of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries and, in particular, the Australian Government’s support in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“This morning I met with the Prime Minister to analyze bilateral cooperation between Timor-Leste and Australia because I believe that the cooperation between Timor-Leste and Australia, as neighbors and partners, is very important now, in the time of Coronavirus. For this reason, I spoke with the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste and Australia about the  Coronavirus issue. In particular, Australia is committed to supporting the vaccination process in Timor-Leste. We will also work closely with the Ministry of Health in other areas and we will cooperate with PNTL to secure the borders. For example, our Police team will provide four new border posts to support the important work of the PNTL. I came here to confirm to the Prime Minister that Australia is ready to work together with Timor-Leste to respond to the Coronavirus”, Ambassador Peter Roberts told reporters, in Tetum, after the audience with the Head of Government.  

Australia has committed to supporting the vaccination process in Timor-Leste, in the first phase for 20 percent of the Timorese population, through the COVAX program, and the Australian Embassy in Timor-Leste will also receive support from Canberra, worth AUS$ 24 million, to support the vaccination process in Timor-Leste, for three years.

For his part, Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak thanked Australia very much for its support, especially during the COVID-19 period, and particularly by supporting Timor-Leste in getting the COVID-19 vaccine, asking the Ambassador to send Timor-Leste’s thanks to Australian Prime-Minister, Scott Morrison. END/M-PMO