Celebrate Australia Day 2023, John Proudly With Relationship Between TL And Australia

Adjunta Embaixadora, Suzy Wilson-Uilelea, S.E Prezidente Sr. José Ramos-Horta and Chargé d’Affaires Ambassy Austrália  John Feakes

SAPNewsTL, Dili : The Australian Embassy in Timor-Leste held an event at Timor Plaza on 26 January to mark Australia Day. The event was attended by the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr José Ramos-Horta, the President of the National Parliament, H.E. Aniceto Guterres Lopes and parliamentary colleagues, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, H.E. Julião da Silva, Chief of Defence Force, Tenente General Falur Rate Laek, Commander General of PNTL, Commissioner Faustino da Costa, and members of the 8th Constitutional Government, members of the diplomatic corps, Australian business community, development partners and other invited guests.

Australia Day is a national holiday in Australia, marked by community and family events, festivals, ceremonies, and official functions – both in Australia and abroad. The theme of Australia Day 2023 is Reflect. Respect. Celebrate.

This year, Australia Day offers an opportunity to recognise prominent Australians; to acknowledge our history and our national journey – including the ongoing history, traditions, and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; and to welcome, through citizenship ceremonies, new members of the Australian community into our modern and diverse population.

 S.E Prezidente Sr. José Ramos-Horta no Chargé d’Affaires Embaixada Austrália, John Feakes, in Australia Ambassy, Dili, 26 January 2023

At the function, Australian Chargé d’Affaires John Feakes remarked about Australia’s relationship with Timor-Leste that: “The relationship with Timor-Leste is, by any measure, one of Australia’s most important and one of our most valued.

It is a relationship between two proudly independent countries. Between two equal partners. Our relationship is anchored by geography, but it is much more than that. It is enlivened by the values we share. Respect for the rights of the individual, a respect for faith, for the views of others, and a commitment to the democratic process.

The relationship is also, in many cases, deeply personal, stretching back many decades. The Australians living and visiting here and the Timorese living in Australia and contributing to making Australia better and stronger bear contemporary testament to that. But the sacrifices made by the Timorese people in World War two in defence of Australia must also never be forgotten. It is a debt which all Australians carry including the generations of Australians to come”.

Reporter : Antonio Altamirando