平和構築委員会（PBC）東ティモールに関する大使級会合における石兼大使ステートメント

I thank the Chair for convening this meeting. I also thank President Ramos-Horta and former President Xanana Gusmão for their impressive and convincing presentation as well as the other briefers for their inputs. 

 
President Ramos-Horta said during his multiple visits to Hiroshima that he was there to learn from Hiroshima’s experience – how it achieved a recovery after the destruction by the atomic bombing. Now that Timor-Leste has come a long way to consolidate peace, it is certainly time to share its experiences of peacebuilding efforts. President Ramos-Horta and former President Xanana Gusmão did that remarkably today. As Japan has been emphasizing the importance of using the PBC as a platform to share and learn from each other’s experiences, we highly welcomes today’s meeting.
 
Timor-Leste’s experience shows the importance of state building focusing on efforts to build foundations for promoting democracy and the rule of law as well as sustainable socio-economic development. Such efforts have included building key institutions and the capacity of personnel as well as developing key infrastructure such as in the fields of transport and agriculture. Japan organized the first donors’ meeting for Timor-Leste in December 1999 where Timorese leaders and their international partners together identified these priorities. Through its official development assistance (ODA), Japan has actively supported the efforts in these areas under Timor-Leste’s national ownership over the past two decades. 
 
Japan also welcomes Timor-Leste’s leadership in the g7+ and this organization’s role in facilitating the knowledge sharing and the raising of awareness about the challenges faced by its members. Japan affirms President Ramos-Horta's belief that there can be “no development without peace and no peace without development.” That is why Japan’s assistance to Timor-Leste has encompassed a wide range of areas across the peace-development-humanitarian nexus through bilateral and multilateral means including its contributions to UN peacekeeping activities. Japan has also actively promoted South-South and triangular cooperation, including through its cooperation with Southeast Asian and Portuguese speaking countries. 
 
We look forward to having more such meetings at the PBC with other members of the g7+ to further share each other’s experiences and knowledge.
 
To conclude, Japan reiterates its continued commitment to supporting Timor-Leste as it advances its peacebuilding efforts.
 
I thank you.