The former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Dame Nuala O'Loan, is to be Ireland's first Roving Ambassador and Special Envoy for Conflict Resolution to Timor-Leste, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said yesterday.
He announced the appointment during an address to the parliament in Dili, the capital of Timor, at the start of a two-day official visit to the region. The visit comes in the wake of the attempted assassination last week of President José Ramos Horta.
"Ms O'Loan's appointment is the first under the Government's Conflict Resolution Initiative. Timor-Leste, one of the youngest nations in the world, and one in which Ireland has had a presence since 2000, has suffered from its share of instability in recent years," Mr Ahern said.
"I believe that Ms O'Loan, working closely with the Government and Opposition, can bring her experience and wisdom to bear on the situation.
"I believe that our assistance in examining how the positive lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process can perhaps be translated into the context of East Timor will be very valuable."
The Minister continued: "It is important to stress that my visit is part of a long-term and systematic series of contacts between our two countries under the Conflict Resolution Initiative.
"It is also clear to me that East Timor needs economic growth and employment-creation. The next phase of our aid programme will also include a focus on job-creation."
