The President of East Timor traveled today for an official visit to Portugal, during which he will take part in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, which he recalled as the realization of the “dream of freedom”.
During his visit to Portugal, which ends on April 28, José Ramos-Horta will meet with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and the president of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, the Timorese presidency said in a statement.
Speaking to Lusa at the beginning of April, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate recalled April 25, 1974 as a “beautiful revolution” for the “realization of the dream of freedom and democracy for the Portuguese people”, for the resolution of the colonial war and for the way it took place without “blood and firing squads”.
“Today Portugal is more economically developed, it leads in the areas of science, technology, medicine, it has a lot of prestige in Europe, international prestige. So that’s why we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of April 25,” he added.
According to the Timorese Presidency, the Timorese President will travel from Lisbon to New Jersey, in the United States, where he will take part in the graduation ceremony at Rutgers University on April 30.
At the ceremony, José Ramos-Horta will deliver a lecture on “Lessons on War and Peace from a Southeast Asian Village”.
The Timorese head of state, who returns to Dili on May 3, holds an “Honorary Doctorate” from Rutgers University.