UN General Assembly
2008

to $150 million a month. It could be argued that, for a country of slightly over one million people, this amount is not too bad. By the end of this year, our Petroleum Fund, which was established in 2005, will have accumulated in excess of $3 billion, all invested in United States treasury bonds. A writer in The Economist recently stated that those who invest in United States treasury bonds are people who like to lose money. We may be among them. We agree with that remark, and Timor-Leste is seeking to reinvest our modest revenues in diversified portfolios around the world. While our first obligation is to make use of our oil wealth for the sustainable development of our country and to address the immediate needs of our poorest, we are not indifferent to the suffering of our fellow human beings in other parts of the world. When the Asia region was hit in December 2005 by a tsunami of major proportions, our Government immediately contributed $50,000 for the victims in Indonesia, and 9 08-51851