DILI, 02 october 2023 (TATOLI) – The Council of Ministers approved two agreements for the implementation of the convention already agreed between Timor-Leste and Portugal on social security and labor mobility.
“The Council of Ministers has decided to authorize the signing of the Administrative Agreement for the application of the Convention between Timor-Leste and Portugal on Social Security and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Portuguese Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Inclusion and the Timor-Leste Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment on the Mobility of Timorese Workers,” said the Minister for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Ágio Pereira, at the Government Palace, in Dili, today.
These agreements will be signed by the Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Verónica das Dores, and the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment, Rogério Araújo Mendonça, respectively, during their official visit to Portugal.
The first agreement aims to coordinate and bring the Social Security Convention into force, which allows Timorese and Portuguese citizens to benefit in either country and with the same Social Security benefits. This way, when applying for retirement in the future, the Timorese can include the deductions they made while working in Portugal in their pension calculations.
The second agreement aims to facilitate and institutionalize the influx of Timorese to Portugal to search for work. With this agreement, the migration of Timorese to Portugal can now be dealt with officially, and the procedures for obtaining work visas are facilitated.
The implementation of the bilateral social security convention was signed last year, at a time when Portugal’s Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, said that the social security policy had already come into force, adding that both nations were only waiting for the right moment to sign a technical note aimed at guaranteeing social protection for the citizens of both countries, both Timorese working in Portugal and Portuguese working in Timor.”
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
