UN summary of Xanana speech to General Assembly

from
<http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/ga11152.doc.htm>http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/ga11152.doc.htm


General Assembly
GA/11152

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Sixty-sixth General Assembly

Plenary

19th, 20th & 21st Meetings (AM, PM & Night)



PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT PRESENTS
APPLICATION FOR UNITED NATIONS MEMBERSHIP AS
HEADS OF STATE, GOVERNMENT ADDRESS GENERAL ASSEMBLY


KAY RALA XANANA GUSMÃO, Prime Minister and
Minister for Defence and Security of Timor-Leste,
opened by thanking Member States for their
support in rebuilding his country’s institutions,
saying Timor-Leste had come a long way as a
people and as a State, replacing intolerance with
constructive dialogue, and the right to protest
with the duty to protest responsibly. Over the
last four years, the country had been
strengthening the institutional capacity of its
public administration to defend the best
interests of the State, improve public service
delivery and promote good governance. It was
also reforming public-finance management and
creating an Anti-Corruption
Commission. Additionally, the country had begun
to develop the capacity of its private sector by
promoting competence, professional honesty and technical skills.

He said that across the country, investments had
been made in agriculture to increase the sector’s
productivity. It was also investing in local and
decentralized development programmes, which
focused on minor infrastructure projects to
promote employment for young people in rural
areas. Those measures had contributed to
economic growth and helped create jobs in the
capital, Dili, as well as in rural areas. They
had also encouraged confidence in State
institutions, leading to a spirit of optimism
that had contributed to a change in mindsets.

As a result of good governance and the prudent
use of revenues, Timor-Leste had recorded
double-digit growth in the last few years, he
said, adding that the country was on the right
path to maintain that growth. The institutions
established to support the Timor-Leste Petroleum
Fund would become stronger, ensuring
responsiveness and greater quality of work and
execution. Additionally, having achieved its
goal of stability, the country was in a position
to prepare a 20-year strategic development plan
that would replace the annual plan, he said. It
would cover three vital areas: social capital,
infrastructure and economic development. “We
want to shift from an oil-dependent economy to a non-oil-dependent economy.”

He said Timor-Leste was trying to be more active
in the region and in the world, to show that it
was possible to leave behind or close a long
period of conflict and focus on humanist ideals
of political and social tolerance for the dignity
and development of all. That was why the county
was intent on joining the Association of
South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said. On
aid effectiveness, he said it would be difficult
for some developing countries to meet the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015 because they
faced daily challenges and difficulties in
combating maladministration. Poor countries also
needed a message of confidence, since all they
heard about was transparency and accountability,
he stressed, urging a change in attitudes.



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