Bilateral Affairs
Telephone: + 670 333 9024
Nelson dos Santos, Director of the Division
email: nsantos@mnec.gov-tl.net
Francisco Cepeda, Policy Officer
email: fcepeda@mnec.gov-tl.net
Emmanuel Tilman, Assistant Policy Officer for Australia and New Zealand Bilateral Affairs
email: etilman@mnec.gov-tl.net
Caetano Guterres, Head of Indonesian Bilateral Affairs
email: cguterres@mnec.gov-tl.net
Cipriano Manca Teme, Policy Officer
email: cteme@mnec.gov-tl.net
Erminio da Silva Pinto, Assistant Policy Officer
email: edpinto@mnec.gov-tl.net
Josefina Carla Tilman, Assistant Policy Officer
email: jctilman@mnec.gov-tl.net
The Division of Bilateral Affairs is the central service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation that aims to ensure the effective and continuous implementation of Ministerial plans concerning political, economic, and cultural international relations at the bilateral level.
Tasks of the Division of Bilateral Affairs focus on the following objectives:
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To collate information regarding the political, economic, and cultural circumstances in different countries, and to ensure that these situations are continually updated and thoroughly investigated;
- To examine and present proposals on the activities of these countries concerning all matters of relevance;
- To ensure the representation of the Ministry in inter-ministerial commissions and other national bodies in relation to any political, economic, and cultural questions and matters within the Division’s jurisdiction;
- To prepare, co-ordinate, and transmit permanent instructions that must be sent to East Timor’s network of foreign missions.
It is necessary for members of the Division of Bilateral Affairs to understand the role of:
- Asia
- Indonesia
- Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific nations
- Europe and the Americas
- Africa and the Middle East
The main tasks within the scope of the respective geographical areas mentioned above are:
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To collate information regarding the political, economic, and cultural circumstances of each country, and to ensure that this information is continually updated and thoroughly analysed;
- To research, assess, and ensure relative expedience on the political, economic, and cultural affairs of each country;
- To prepare the necessary judgments in order to clarify East Timor’s foreign politics, and safeguard the national interest, as well as provide relevant instructions to East Timor’s foreign missions;
- To participate in negotiating and concluding international political, economic, and cultural treaties and agreements, ensuring that these processes are efficiently coordinated with the necessary elements in collaboration with other relevant ministries and services;
- To collaborate with other Ministry services and government departments in the preparation of instructions and reports to send to East Timorese delegations to international bodies regarding political, economic, and cultural matters.