This is the second visit to Vietnam of President José Ramos-Horta after 14 years and the fourth visit by a high-ranking Timor-Leste leader.
Vietnam and Timor-Leste are neighboring countries in Southeast Asia with long-standing friendship. Vietnam was among the first countries to recognize the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) in 1975. In 2002, the two countries established diplomatic ties. Since then, bilateral relations between the two countries have seen significant developments. Attentively, Timor-Leste high-ranking leaders have paid three official visits to Vietnam, one by President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao in 2005, another by President José Ramos-Horta in 2010, and the latest by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao in September 2013. Timor-Leste officially opened its embassy in Hanoi in 2012, while the Vietnamese Embassy to Indonesia concurrently operates in Timor-Leste.
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President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta arrives in Hanoi on July 31 evening, beginning his four-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President To Lam. |
During high-level meetings on the occasion of attending ASEAN’s conferences, Timor-Leste leaders always show their admiration for Vietnam's revolutionary cause as well as its process of national building and construction, considering Vietnam a model of development.
Although the economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries still remains modest, the investment project titled “Telemor” of the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) to provide telecommunications services in Timor-Leste is a typical successful example.
After 10 years of development, Telemor has contributed to significantly changing the telecommunications industry in Timor-Leste, becoming the best telecommunications service provider in the country. Meanwhile, Telemor has also engaged in many social activities, including blood donation and environmental protection, etc. Telemor's achievements and contributions have been recognized and the business recently received a certificate of merit from the Government of Timor-Leste.
Vietnam and Timor-Leste hold huge potential to boost cooperation in other fields, such as agriculture, gas and oil, fisheries, infrastructure construction, textiles, consumer goods, education, culture, tourism, people-to-people exchange, among others.
Both countries have maintained coordination at multilateral forums in the region and the world, especially in significant strategic issues. Timor-Leste is currently in the process of joining ASEAN, which will further expand economic, political, and cultural cooperation opportunities with regional community members. Based on the traditional friendship between the two countries, Vietnam strongly supports Timor-Leste in joining ASEAN.
Vietnam's consistent policy is to always attaching importance to its relations with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, including Timor-Leste. Therefore, President José Ramos-Horta’s state visit to Vietnam is an occasion for both nations to discuss measures to consolidate political trust, accelerate cooperation in various fields in a more substantive and effective manner, and promote potential cooperation fields matching the interests of both sides. It also contributes to deepening the Vietnam - Timor-Leste relationship that has been nurtured over the past time, and showing their support and close coordination with each other at the multilateral level.
Translated by Quynh Oanh