The Timorese Head of State was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new Ambassador of East Timor to Cuba, Nevio Magalhaes, and the Permanent Representative of East Timor to the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, Laura Abrantes.
“Without Cuba's support for medical training for Timorese, the situation in the health sector today in East Timor would be a disastersaid Jose Ramos-Horta.
In a speech, the Timorese president noted that in 2002, when independence was restored, the country had only 19 doctors, who were trained in Indonesia and there were no specialists.
At that time, Cuba deployed 20 doctors, then 50, and eventually had a team of 200 doctors in the country.
“Twenty-two years after independence, the Cuban medical presence in East Timor remains indispensableJose Ramos-Horta said, stressing that it is in the national interest for there to be an embassy for Timor in Cuba.
Regarding the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, the Timorese Head of State stated that it was of “equal importance”.
“Timor-Leste has been one of the most active countries of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, not only for its permanent participation, but also for the funding and support it has provided to the countries of the Community in greatest need, namely Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe.“, recalls José Ramos-Horta.
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