ASEAN | R. Indonesia, Timor Leste amp up relations as younger nation seeks ASEAN seat
This handout picture taken and released on July 19 by the Presidential Palace shows President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) and his Timor Leste counterpart Jose Ramos Horta attending a joint press conference after their meeting at the Bogor Palace. (AFP/handout)
Indonesia and Timor Leste have agreed to strengthen economic ties as the younger nation seeks to secure a place at the ASEAN table.
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On Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo welcomed to the Bogor Palace newly sworn-in Timor Leste President Jose Ramos Horta on his first overseas trip.
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Jokowi held a tête-à-tête with Ramos Horta, followed by a bilateral meeting between their delegations, during which they also discussed ways to make traveling by sea and land easier and to conclude negotiations on demarcation of two unresolved land border segments – Noel Besi-Citrana and Bijael Sunan-Oben.
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Accompanying Jokowi in the bilateral meeting was Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, along with several other Cabinet members and the Indonesian ambassador to Timor Leste.
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Ramos Horta, meanwhile, was accompanied by several ministers and the Timor Leste envoy to Indonesia.
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to Read Full Story . Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2022/07/19/ri-timor-leste-amp-up-relations-as-younger-nation-seeks-asean-seat.html.
A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil
(The Jakarta Post)
Wed, July 20, 2022
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East Timor hopes to join ASEAN next year
BOGOR, INDONESIA (AP) – East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta yesterday said he hoped Asia’s youngest country could join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year.
In a joint news conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Ramos-Horta said that his government has fulfilled all requirements to be the newest member of the bloc, and his country expected Widodo would maximise his role as the chair of ASEAN next year to accelerate the acceptance of East Timor as the 11th member of the regional grouping.
“I’m very grateful that Indonesia remains very committed to Timor Leste’s membership in ASEAN,” Ramos-Horta said after meeting with Widodo, using his country’s official name. “We hope to join ASEAN during Indonesia’s presidency to be highly symbolic.”
Ramos-Horta, former independence fighter and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was sworn in as President of East Timor on May 20 as the country marked its 20th anniversary of independence from Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.
He made his first bilateral visit to Indonesia – Southeast Asia’s largest economy and a traditional first stop for new East Timorese leaders.
He was hosted by Widodo at an official ceremony yesterday in the presidential palace in Bogor.
The two leaders yesterday agreed to increase trade and transportation cooperation, and Widodo pledged to strengthen his administration role to participate in development in East Timor, including in infrastructure, banking, telecommunications as well as non-oil and gas sector.
During his week-long visit in Indonesia, Ramos-Horta is scheduled to meet with ASEAN Secretary General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi to discuss regional issues and his country’s request for ASEAN membership. He will also meet Indonesia’s former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and give public lectures at three universities.
East Timor officially applied for full membership of ASEAN in 2011, but ASEAN has yet to respond due to the nation’s small economy and relatively high poverty levels. Members like much wealthier Singapore feared East Timor would be a burden and slowed its bid to realise the ASEAN Economic Community.
The United Nations (UN) estimates nearly half of East Timor’s population lives below the extreme poverty line of USD1.90 a day, and for every 1,000 babies born in the country, 42 die before their fifth birthday because of malnutrition.
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