Dili, February 10, 2025 – A plenary meeting was held presided by the Vice-President of the National Parliament, Mrs. Maria Terezinha Viegas. The meeting was attended by the Vice-Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Aderito Hugo da Costa, as well as other members present at the plenary session.
During the plenary meeting, several interventions were made by members of the opposition benches, including the Member of the National Parliament, Florentino Ximenes. He expressed his opinion that the negotiator does not yet have the capacity to resolve the issues related to the maritime border and the sharing of the Greater Sunrise project between Timor-Leste and Australia. According to him, the revenue from the project is only 20% to 30% for Timor-Leste. In addition, he also criticized the government’s actions in determining maritime boundaries, stating that the National Parliament was not involved in the process and that resolutions were made only on the basis of opinions, without the approval of a law or decision granting negotiators the authority to regulate maritime boundaries and the division of Greater Sunrise with Australia.
Deputy Florentino also stressed that Fretilin is opposed to this resolution, as it believes that the distribution of Greater Sunrise’s natural resources, related to gas and oil, is not compatible with Timor-Leste’s principles and rights. He also pointed out that the determination of the maritime boundary must be carried out on the basis of international law and the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, especially Article 4º.
In response to this statement, the Vice-Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Aderito Hugo da Costa, clarified that the chief negotiator has a clear mandate based on the country’s Constitution. He stressed that all international negotiations and agreements are the exclusive authority of the Executive, and not of Parliament, the President of the Republic or any specific political party.
Based on the resolution adopted by Parliament in 2014, a commission was formed to complete the permanent delimitation of the maritime border between Timor-Leste and Australia. This process did not involve Xanana Gusmão’s name, but it was a state policy based on national interest. The 2014 resolution was passed with the involvement of Fretilin, which, despite expressing concerns and protests about the legality of the process, pledged to support the decision to strengthen the country’s history and success in resolving the maritime border with Australia.