Visit of the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

(Posted on January 30, 2026)

On November 27 and 28, 2025, Her Excellency Maria Terezinha da Silva Viegas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, together with Mr. Celio Moniz da Silva, Counselor, Mr. João Mendonça, Labour Attaché and Ms. Chikage Hirao, a local staff of the Embassy visited our university.

On November 27, the delegation first paid a courtesy visit to Prof. Yuri Ishii, Vice President for International Cooperation at the Yoshida Campus. The meeting was also attended by Professor Koichi Yamamoto, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, and Associate Professor Md. Azizul Moqsud. During the meeting, the participants reviewed the past exchanges between Yamaguchi University and higher education institutions in Timor-Leste and exchanged views on the importance of academic cooperation.

The following day, November 28, marked the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Timor-Leste in 1975. To commemorate this occasion, a commemorative ceremony was held in the department’s conference room with Ambassador Viegas in attendance. The ceremony was attended by students from Timor-Leste studying at Yamaguchi University and their families, as well as faculty members and students of the department. The event opened with the singing of the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, followed by remarks from Ambassador Viegas, in which she emphasized the friendly relations between the two countries and the importance of academic exchange. Professor Yamamoto then provided an overview of the history of collaboration between the department and the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e. In the afternoon of the same day, Ambassador Viegas and the delegation attended research presentations by four graduate students from Timor-Leste.

Since 2011, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering has been actively involved in capacity-building efforts for the Department of Civil Engineering at the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e through the JICA project “The Project for Capacity Development of the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology, the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e (CADEFEST: Phase 1 and Phase 2)”. These efforts have included the dispatch of the faculty members and the acceptance of international students, fostering a long-standing cooperative relationship. The department continues to host a number of graduate students from Timor-Leste. Furthermore, for the new JICA project “The Project for Capacity Development of Graduate Education of Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology, the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e (CADEGRADE)”, which commenced this academic year, Professor Emeritus Masahiko Sekine of Yamaguchi University, is currently stationed in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as an advisor.

Taking Ambassador Viegas’s visit as an opportunity, we will continue to promote further exchanges in order to strengthen cooperation with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in education and research.

Research Presentation by Mr. Oktoviano Viegas Tilman de Jesus, Ph.D. Student