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- The g7+ is an intergovernmental organization made up of conflict-affected countries united by a vision of peace, stability, and development in their countries and everywhere in the world.
  
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The g7+ Secretariat

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The g7+ Secretariat

The g7+ Secretariat

The member countries collectively agreed to set up the g7+ Secretariat in Dili, Timor-Leste in 2010. In the beginning, it was housed at the Department of Partnership Monitoring Unit (DPMU) at the Ministry of Finance of Timor-Leste. In December 2013, the g7+ Secretariat was registered as an independent entity in Timor-Leste. In 2014, the g7+ Secretariat was officially established and received grants from the Government of Timor-Leste to operationalize the work of g7+ on Peacebuilding and state building.

The basic function of the Secretariat is to provide greater efficiency in the advice, coordination, and assistance in implementing the decisions of the Ministerial Forum, to support the Chair of g7+ and to coordinate activities of the Member States by acting as liaison for each group of Ministries of the Members States, often consisting of Ministries of Finance and Planning, and Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Follow the principles of Volunteerism, Solidarity and Cooperation, the g7+ Secretariat shall work to further strengthen and deepen links between Member States under the flagship program Fragile-to-Fragile Cooperation.

The g7+ Headquarters is hosted in Dili, Timor-Leste

The g7+ European Hub is located in Lisbon, Portugal

The g7+ Secretariat promotes the identity and activities of the group by representing it in multilateral, regional and bilateral donor organizations and encouraging the alignment of these organizations’ policies on engagement with member countries in accordance with the principles of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States. Finally, the g7+ Secretariat is also to represents the g7+ in various international for a to maintain visibility and increase the impact of the work of g7+.

In early April 2017, the g7+ leadership, comprised of Eminent Person H.E. Xanana Gusmão and H.E. Momodu Lamin Kargbo, Chair of g7+ (2016 – 2018), visited Lisbon. This visit resulted in the Lisbon Municipality granting an office space in central Lisbon to become the g7+ hub in Europe.

The office was officially inaugurated in the summer of 2018 with the presence of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, H.E. Teresa Ribeiro. The office allows the g7+ to serve our members better and remain actively engaged with development partners in Europe.

In May 2020, the Government of Timor-Leste made its first amendment to decree law no.14 of 17 August 2018 regarding the organic law of the VIII Constitutional Government and pronounced “The existence of the g7+ secretariat, which, being a service of an international organization, should not be included in the organizational structure of the Government of one of the Member States of that same international organization”. Therefore, the g7+ Secretariat now stands as international organization in Timor-Leste.

The g7+ Secretariat team

General Secretary of g7+
Dr. Helder da Costa

Dr. Helder da Costa is the General Secretary of the g7+ Secretariat. He has held this position since 2014. The main role of the General Secretary is to act at the Secretary of the Ministerial Forum and Advisory Council Meetings. Dr. Helder also responsible in close coordination with the Chair, Deputy Chair and Member States for setting up the agenda of the Ministerial Meeting. Dr. Helder oversees the management of the Secretariat including enter into legal agreement on behalf of g7+. He was one of the 18 Sherpas representing the g7+ in the negotiation of the Busan Partnership Agreement for Effective Development Cooperation, OECD in 2011.

Da Costa earned his PhD in Trade Policy at the School of International Applied Economics, University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 2001. He has over 20 years of management experience in the academic and development fields in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Before joining g7+, He worked as an Advisor on Aid Effectiveness for 5 years to the Ministry of Finance, Timor-Leste. He has also consulted for various international development agencies over the past decade including United Nations Development Program, United Nations, Asia Development Bank, World Bank, AusAID and Australian Center for International Agriculture Research, and it leads him to be a regular contributor to refereed journals on development issues.

Dr. Da Costa’s worked as Tertiary Education Manager and the Asia Programme Manager over 6 years with the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) based in Wellington, New Zealand which overseeing 5 countries in Asia (Bhutan, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste).

Deputy of g7+
Mr. Habib Ur Rehman Mayar

Habib Ur Rehman Mayar is the Deputy General Secretary of the g7+ Secretariat based in Dili, Timor-Leste. He has served in the Secretariat since 2013 and engages in policy discourse on how best to advance the g7+ vision of pursuing peace and stability.

Prior to that, he was the Head of the Aid Coordination Unit in the Ministry of Finance, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Like many Afghans who fled their countries during the Russian occupation in 1980s, Mr. Mayar grew up in a refugee camp in Pakistan. He completed his master’s degree in business administration from Baluchistan University of IT and Management Sciences.