President José Ramos-Horta in conversation with Michael Fullilove of the Lowy Institute, on Ukraine, China, mistakes and successes in Timor-Leste, the rising generation of leaders, and magic vitamins.
“I start with the most disappointing and most unexplainable: that with all the resources we have from oil and gas, we still have extreme poverty. We still have extreme child malnutrition. We still have one of the highest levels of stunt for children. That is just unforgivable. Something went wrong in the allocation of priorities…. But at the same time, areas of pride? Yes, reconciliation. Unlike so many countries in the world, unlike the Middle East, the Balkans, and many countries in Africa – well, we have zero political violence, we have zero ethnic or religious- based violence, there is no persecution or harassment of people who in the past collaborated on the other side. Zero persecution of that. And a great relationship with Indonesia. But also, that’s also a tribute to Indonesia….”