DILI, 21 june 2022 (TATOLI)– The National Authority of 2020 Dubai Expo (NAED) requested the Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC) to establish a new Consulate of Timor-Leste in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying it is important to monitoring and protect Timorese workers who will work in UAE.
The statement was said by the General Coordinator of ANED, Manuel Vong during the presentation of the Expo Dubai report at the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Tuesday.
“The creation of a new consulate in the UAE is very important to monitor workers from Timor-Leste who will work in the UAE, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, Timor-Leste and the EUA,” said Vong.
Vong in his presentation added that the Expo Dubai Authority was successfully achieving its goal by influencing foreign investors such as Jobs Global to cooperate with the Incanto group and SEPFOPE to send Timor-Leste workers to work in Dubai.
“The mission in the UAE was able to influence around 43 international investors who were interested to invest in Timor-Leste, one of these investors is Jobs Global,” he said.
At the same place, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Julião da Silva said previously the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation had held an official meeting with the UAE Ministry to discuss cooperation between the two countries, which focused on establishing a diplomatic mission.
“The delegation from the MoFAC also attended the 2020 Expo held in Dubai to discuss what cooperation will be done between the two countries and also establish a Diplomatic Mission. At the moment, we have the nearest consulate which is in Lebanon but we would like to establish one more consulate in the UAE.” said da Silva.
In the same place, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Trade, and Industry (MTCI), Domingos Lopes Antunes also recalled that previously the Government had decided to establish a State Secretariat for the Affairs of Timor-Leste Citizens Abroad (SSACE).
“The new SSACE is established to provide specialized services to people overseas and especially in countries that do not have our embassies or diplomatic missions there,” he concluded.
Expo 2020 was a World Expo hosted by Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being postponed, organizers kept the name Expo 2020 for marketing and branding purposes. The event had recorded more than 24 million visits in its six months. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) general assembly in Paris named Dubai as the host on 27 November 2013.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia Borges
