Ambassador Klemm Promotes Security and Economic Growth in Remote District
June 22, 2009
 |
| Ambassador Klemm and Lt. Good meet with PNTL and UNPOL officials during the visit to Same on June 22, 2009 |
During a trip to Same and Natarbora from June 22nd through June 23rd, Ambassador Hans Klemm met with local leaders and visited three US assistance programs. In Same, he met with the District Administrator and the National Police of Timor-Leste’s (PNTL) Commander for Manufahi District where they discussed security concerns, economic opportunities, and social development. A representative from the U.S. Navy Seabees joined the trip to assess potential infrastructure projects in Same and Natarbora. Ambassador Klemm also visited a maternity clinic, a school for the blind, and gave a live interview to Same’s community radio station. He visited two USAID-funded vanilla plantations where farmers are learning the benefits of crop diversification and market outreach. In Natarbora, Ambassador Klemm visited a Technical Agricultural High School where he inaugurated USAID’s Building Agribusiness Capacity in East Timor (BACET) Program. The Ambassador also presented a gift of sports equipment and 200 text books donated by the Asia Foundation to the high school.
On May 29, President José Ramos-Horta and Ambassador Hans Klemm visited sailors from the Timor-Leste Detachment of the U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Forty at Camp Lenhoff, Dili. Twenty six SEABEES have been deployed in Timor-Leste since February 2009 and engaged in humanitarian construction and rehabilitation projects in cooperation with the Timorese ministry of education. After taking a tour of the facility, President Ramos-Horta addressed the sailors, thanking them for their work in Timor-Leste. He also provided the troops with Timorese gifts, such as coffee and a patola, a giant vegetable that tastes like a pumpkin. President Ramos-Horta underscored the SEABEES' contribution as an example of the ties of friendship and cooperation between the United States of America and Timor-Leste. The president's visit received wide print, television, and radio media coverage.
During a visit to the western enclave of Oecusse from May 25 through 27, Ambassador Hans Klemm promoted five U.S. assistance programs in that district. Accompanied by senior Timor-Leste officials, the Ambassador initiated an Uma Lulik (traditional Timorese sacred house) restoration project funded by the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant, as well as USAID job training and health programs targeted at the Oecusse enclave. He also conducted a community public radio interview to underscore the U.S. commitment to assisting Oecusse’s economic and social development. The Ambassador and local officials inaugurated USAID's District Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene Program (DWASH), and formally opened a USAID cattle raising operation in Oecusse. During public remarks, the Ambassador underscored the ties of friendship between the United States and Timor-Leste, and our commitment to assisting the Timorese people in their quest for peace, security and prosperity. The Ambassador's visit to Oecusse received wide media coverage on local television, radio, and print media.
From May 14-16, renowned U.S. coral reef biologist Dr. Nancy Knowlton visited Timor-Leste as part of the State Department's Speaker Program to meet with several key Timorese audiences and generate greater awareness of Timor-Leste's coral reef treasures and the urgency for their preservation. Dr. Knowlton serves as the Smithsonian Institute's Sant Chair for Marine Science in Washington, D.C., and leads the Institution's efforts to foster greater public understanding of the world's oceans. On May 14, Dr. Knowlton met with National Parliament Vice President Vicente Guterres, Commission F for Health, Education, and Culture president Virgilio Marcal, Commission F members, and Acting Minister of Agriculture Valentino Varela. On May 15, Dr. Knowlton met with students from the University of Peace and the National University of Timor-Leste, and with representatives from Timor-Leste's HABURAS environmental NGO, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and UniQuest Timor-Leste. (
On May 7, Ambassador Hans Klemm provided a keynote speech at the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) Academy's First Responder graduation ceremony in Dili. Other speakers included PNTL Police Academy Director Carlos Geronimo, PNTL Deputy Commissioner Afonso de Jesus, and Superintendent Shane McLennan of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Timor-Leste Police Development Program (TLPDP). In their remarks, Deputy Commissioner De Jesus and Mr. Geronimo lauded the United States and Australia for their support in providing first responder training for police academy instructors. Urging continued support from the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and TLPDP for future courses, they underscored the program's importance in molding Timor-Leste's newest police officers. In his remarks, Ambassador Klemm congratulated the graduates, noting that their new skills and training will strengthen the ability of the police to protect and serve Timorese citizens. Singling out this sector's critical importance to democracy and national development, the Ambassador praised the partnership between the United States, Timor-Leste and Australia to increase the PNTL's operational capacity. Following his remarks, the Ambassador presented graduate certificates to the eleven participants. 
