Nobel Peace Laureate takes over foreign affairs portfolio in East Timor
19 October -- Jose Ramos-Horta, an East Timorese Nobel Peace Laureate, was sworn in today as the newest member of the East Timor Transitional Cabinet, taking over day-to-day foreign affairs functions of the newly independent territory, as well as the setting up of the future Foreign Ministry and Diplomatic Corps.
Mr. Ramos-Horta also assumes responsibility for the foreign relations of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which had previously been managed by Peter Galbraith, the Cabinet member for Political Affairs.
In his speech at the swearing-in ceremony in East Timor's capital of Dili, Mr. Ramos-Horta emphasized the importance of normalizing relations with Indonesia and maintaining good relations with the ASEAN countries, as well as Portugal, other Portuguese-speaking countries, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.
In other news, the Executive Director of the Bonn-based UN Volunteers programme (UNV) is scheduled to visit East Timor from 22-26 October to assess the security conditions of the more than 400 UN Volunteers serving in the territory.
There are currently 406 UNVs from 85 countries working in East Timor. About 70 per cent of them are involved in agriculture, human rights, social affairs and public administration. Over the next five months, an additional 332 UNVs will be fielded as civil registration and electoral officers.
