A forum on peace in East Timor was held at the Macau Inter-University Institute on October 25, 2008. It was organized by the Institute, the Universal Peace Federation, the Macau-Timor Friendship Association, and the International Educational Foundation.
Speakers from East Timor included officials from the Ministry of Economy and Development: Dr. Rui Hanjam, Vice-Minister; Mr. Joao Baptista Dos Santos, Assistant Executive Director; and Mr. Salustiano dos Santos Carvalho, Economist and Permanent Secretary. Additional speakers included Dr. Maria Paixao de Jesus da Costa, Vice Chair of the Parliament; Mr. Marcio Rosa Lay, Director of International Trade of the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry; and Mr. Cornelio Luz Ferreira, Delegation of Timor in the Permanent Secretariat Office (Macau) of the China Portuguese Language Speaking Countries Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum.
Macau and East Timor were both formerly occupied by Portugal, and some of the residents still speak Portuguese and are of the Roman Catholic faith. East Timor (officially Timor-Leste) comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor and nearby areas of the Indonesian archipelago. It became independent from Portugal in 1975 and was then occupied by Indonesian troops. Its independence was restored in 2002, after which it became a member of the United Nations. The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste has been seeking to restore stability.
Representing the Macau Inter-University Institute, Dr. Ivo Carneiro De Sousa, Vice-rector for Research and international Relations, gave a presentation at the forum, as did Dr. Isabel Morais, Coordinator of the institute’s Office of International Relations.
One of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, Macau was transferred by Portugal to China in 1999. The Macau Inter-University Institute that hosted the forum had been jointly founded by the Catholic University of Portugal and the Diocese of Macau.
Speakers from the International Educational Foundation were Dr. Chang Quan-Fong, Asia President, and Mrs. Alice Huang, Asia Director.
Sixteen participants were appointed Ambassadors for Peace, and six were appointed Young Ambassadors for Peace.