On May 26, 2020, a cargo plane carrying medical supplies jointly donated by Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation to Timor-Leste arrived at Dili airport. Ambassador. Dr. Xiao Jianguo, H.E. Dr. Dionísio Babo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Former President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Isabel Costa Ferreira, Founder of Quesadhip Ruak Foundation, H.E. Mr. Aurélio Guterres, Former Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Jorge Camoes, General Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dr. Rajesh Pandav, WHO Representative to Timor-Leste and other officials from Ministry of Health and Integrated Crisis Management Centre attended the handover ceremony at the airport.
Ambassador Dr. Xiao and Minister Dr. Babo firstly exchanged handover certificates of the medical supplies donated by Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation. In his remarks, Ambassador Dr. Xiao highly appreciated that Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation donated medical supplies to Timor-Leste which overcame many difficulties, saying that China has dispatched two chartered flights to Timor-Leste within one month, which fully embodies profound friendship between the Chinese and Timorese people.
Ambassador Dr. Xiao emphasized that at the 73rd World Health Assembly(WHA), President Xi Jinping called on the international community to unite and cooperate in fighting against COVID-19, announced important measures such as providing $2 billion, establishing global logistic center in China and offering vaccine as a global pubic good, which demonstrates the commitment of China to build a community with a shared future for mankind and its responsibility for global public health as a major country. Moreover, these important measures will bring great opportunities to further cooperation between China and Timor-Leste in the fields of health, epidemic prevention and socio-economic recovery. China will continuously follow the epidemic control in Timor-Leste, help Timor-Leste to the best of its ability in protecting the safety and health of Timorese people and building a global community of health for all.
On behalf of the Timorese Government, Minister Dr. Babo sincerely thanked Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation for their kind donations, saying that this action embodies the friendship of Chinese people to the Timorese people. Hardship reveals true friendship. After achieving great success in fighting against COVID-19, China has dispatched two chartered flights with medical supplies to Timor-Leste and the third batch of medical supplies is on the way to Timor-Leste by sea, which has greatly made the Timorese people moved across the country. At present, with the support of many international partners, including China, the Timorese Government has achieved encouraging, phased results in fighting against COVID-19 by adopting a series of effective anti-epidemic measures.
Minister Dr. Babo said that President Xi Jinping put forward major propositions and initiatives concerning about international anti-epidemic cooperation at the 73rd WHA, which will effectively enhance China's international leadership and influence. In particularly, the measures such as COVID-19 vaccine, which will be made a global public good, are impressive and significant to countries with a weaker public health system like Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste looks forward to strengthening cooperation with international community including China and WHO in fighting against COVID-19. Timor-Leste is also willing to consolidate and deepen traditional relation with China. It's believed that, with the sincere help of the Chinese government and two foundations, Timor-Leste will surely win the fight against COVID-19
RTTL, Tatoli , GMN, Timor Post, STL and other mainstream media of Timor-Leste reported the ceremony. The medical supplies included face masks, medical gloves, personal protective equipment (PPE), face shields, testing kits, extractants, preserving fluids, handy thermometers, ventilators and so on.