Horta at Davos16 Jan 2023 14:09
Timorese PR will announce opportunities in the country at the Davos Forum
Dili, Jan 16, 2023 (Lusa) - The President of the Timorese Republic said today that he will take advantage of his participation in the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to report on the new economic opportunities in Timor-Leste.
“More than meetings with heads of state, I am more interested in meetings with the business and business world, big investors, in the area of ??digitization, information technologies, banks and financing”, said José Ramos-Horta to Lusa, before to leave.
“I will also make known the impact of Timor-Leste's accession to ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], which reflects the success of Timorese diplomacy in its relations, especially with Indonesia and other countries in the region, and make known the opportunities in Timor-Leste”, he explained.
Ramos-Horta left Dili today for Switzerland where he will participate, at the invitation of the president of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, in this year's meetings, which also include a debate lunch promoted by the Washington Post.
“The great advantages of Davos have to do with the network of contacts that is established, the 'network' with those present. I will also have the opportunity to dialogue with the George Soros team
US businesspeople] who are carrying out a study on new economic strategies for Timor-Leste”, he noted.
In the chapter on the transition to renewables, Ramos-Horta contests the idea that new oil and gas exploration projects cannot advance – such as the Greater Sunrise in the Timor Sea – stating that this penalizes younger nations.
“I am referring to Greta [Thunberg] and so many other young people who talk about putting pressure on oil companies not to support new development projects, new explorations”, he explained.
“So it means that they are saying that we can perpetuate the gas and oil explorations in progress, done by the USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the Gulf countries and only the young, more recent countries, such as Timor-Leste, Guyana, Mozambique, more recent countries, poor on the periphery, would be prohibited from making use of their strategic resources”, he said.
In the case of Timor-Leste, where the economy still depends significantly on oil and natural gas revenues, Ramos-Horta emphasized: “Deliver US$100 billion in 'cash' to Timor-Leste, in blocks not in tranches, and then we will abandon any project or plan to explore Greater Sunrise. Otherwise, these positions are ridiculous,” he said.
Ramos-Horta returns to Timor-Leste at the end of this week.
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