Timor-Leste Youth Leaders Join FSI Program

Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III (3rd from right) and Timor-Leste Ambassador Marciano O.G. Da Silva (4th from left) together with the Timorese delegation.

PASAY 06 June 2024 – The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), headed by Director General Francisco Noel R. Fernandez III, welcomed a delegation of emerging leaders from Timor-Leste, marking a significant step in diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.

Timor-Leste Ambassador Marciano O.G. Da Silva accompanied the 11-member delegation who participated in the Diplomat’s Hour session of FSI’s Foreign Service Officers Cadetship Course where the emerging leaders gained insights on international relations, foreign affairs, and diplomatic work directly from retired Ambassador Minda Cruz who was the featured speaker in that session.

The delegation’s itinerary included an orientation of FSI’s programs, a tour of the FSI language laboratory, and attendance at a forum hosted by the DFA Office of Cultural Diplomacy in the latter’s Heritage Talks series featuring “The Textiles of Basilan”.

The Timor-Leste delegation, composed of upcoming leaders from both the public and private sectors, is on an exposure visit to Manila as part of their government’s preparation for Timor-Leste’s admission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

FSI is the training and research office of the Department of Foreign Affairs created under Presidential Decree No. 1060, as expanded by Republic Act No. 7157. END