DÍLI, 15 July 2026 (TATOLI) – The Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs and Minister for Rural Development and Community Housing, Mariano Assanami Sabino, met with Portugal’s Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, as part of his official working visit to the country.
During the meeting, the Timorese minister began by expressing his solidarity with the communities affected by the recent wildfires in central Portugal.
Assanami took the opportunity to thank Portugal for its continued support to Timor-Leste, highlighting cooperation in the fields of education and higher education as key priorities.
Mariano Assanami Sabino stressed that strengthening the teaching of the Portuguese language remains a strategic priority for the Government of Timor-Leste, extending not only to the capital, Dili, but also to rural areas. In this context, he underlined the importance of the CAFE Project, describing it as essential to meeting the country’s educational needs.
In the field of higher education, the Vice Prime Minister requested an increase in the number of places available to Timorese students under Portugal’s special admission scheme. He also proposed that Timorese students already residing and studying in Portugal should be included within the same scheme.
For his part, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, expressed his willingness to examine the matter in coordination with the Minister responsible for Higher Education, Fernando Alexandre.
The Timorese minister also used the meeting to express his gratitude for Portugal’s financial support, provided through the Camões Institute, for the Konis Santana Civic Centre in Tutuala, a project which is also co-funded by the Government of Timor-Leste through the Office for the Support of Civil Society.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mariano Assanami Sabino extended an official invitation to the Minister of the Presidency to attend the celebrations marking Timor-Leste’s Independence Day on 28 November. António Leitão Amaro thanked him for the invitation and expressed his appreciation for the gesture.
The Vice Prime Minister was accompanied during the visit by Timor-Leste’s Ambassador to Portugal, Manuel Serrano.
TATOLI
