Senior officials of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) attended the oath-taking ceremony of Timor-Leste’s new government in the capital Dili on 1 July.

Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Daw Zin Mar Aung and U Lin Thant, the representative of NUG for Czech Republic, were among 100 international dignitaries invited by President of Timor-Leste Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to the ceremony.

Newly-elected Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao will lead the government after his opposition National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) won May’s election in a landslide.

Gusmao was elected as premier again after CNRT allied with the Democratic Party to gain a majority in Parliament. The 77-year-old independence icon was well-known for unifying the country during his first two terms in office, after a bloody guerilla war against Indonesian occupation.

He became the nation’s first president between 2002 and 2007 and served as prime minister between 2007 and 2015.

During his terms in office, Gusmao tackled the economic challenges of the country with an estimated 1.5 million population, with nearly 42 percent of them living below the poverty line.

Gusmao has pledged that his government will reduce poverty through a strategic development plan, while giving priority to national reconciliation and unity in order to achieve the development goals.

“I promise to carry out the tasks that the people have entrusted to me and to bring prosperity to the Timorese people through government programmes,” Gusmao said at the swearing-in ceremony, according to the media.

He also promised that local governments will be allowed their own development programmes, including those to improve health services for mothers and children.

Timor Leste is in the process of joining ASEAN as its 11th member.