Timor Leste Lauds Indonesia for Aiding Its Efforts Towards Becoming ASEAN Member

Bogor, West Java, MINA — Timor Leste has praised Indonesia for aiding Timor Leste`s process of accession into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“I express gratitude to Indonesia for its constant support to enable Timor Leste to become a member of the ASEAN,” Antara News quoted Timor Leste President Francisco Guterres Lu Olo as saying during a joint press conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Thursday.

In 2002, Timor Leste was recognized as an observer of ASEAN and joined the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2005. In January 2007, the country acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, pledging to renounce the use of force and binding Timor Leste to non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN member states.

Timor Leste also praised Indonesia for being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2019-2020 term, Lu Olo said.

He said cooperation between Timor leste and Indonesia, as its main partner in a number of fields, was very important.

“Jokowi and I discussed issues in a very transparent way at the tete-a-tete. At the tete-a-tete and bilateral meeting, we also discussed several issues related to bilateral ties between the two countries,” Lu Olo said.

Several areas of cooperation discussed at the meeting included enhancing the flight connectivity between Dili in Timor Leste and Kupang in Indonesia`s East Nusa Tenggara province. (T//RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)