José Ramos-Horta was sworn in to the East Timor Transitional Cabinet today, 19 October. He becomes the Cabinet’s ninth member and will be responsible for the Foreign Affairs portfolio.
The Cabinet responsibility for foreign affairs has up to this time rested in the Political Affairs portfolio. Now, all day to day foreign affairs functions will be managed by José Ramos-Horta, including UNTAET’s relations with foreign governments and international organizations. His tasks will also include the establishment of the future Foreign Ministry and Diplomatic corps.
The Cabinet member for Political Affairs, Peter Galbraith, will remain the lead for issues pertaining to the Timor Sea and will continue to conduct the negotiations with Australia for UNTAET, on behalf of East Timor, along with Mari Alkatiri, whose portfolio controls Economic Affairs.
In his speech, Ramos-Horta emphasized the importance of normalizing relations with Indonesia and to maintain good relations with the ASEAN countries, as well as Portugal and the Portuguese speaking countries, Australia, New Zealand, the United Sates, Japan, China and South Korea.
The four Timorese Cabinet members appointed earlier are: Ana Pessoa for Internal Administration; João Carrascalão for Infrastructure; Father Filomeo Jacob for Social Affairs and Mari Alkatiri for Economic Affairs.
The four international Cabinet members are: Deputy SRSG Jean-Christian Cady for Police and Emergency Services; Gita Honwana-Welch for Justice; Peter Galbraith for Political Affairs and Michael Francino for Finance.
