On 7 February 2011, Dr. Zacarius Albano da Costa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste met with Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul during his official visit to Thailand. Both sides took this opportunity to reaffirm their intention to further strengthen cooperation in all areas.
Foreign Minister Surapong expressed his appreciation to the Government of Timor-Leste for providing financial assistance of USD 750,000 to help flood victims in Thailand. As this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relation between the two countries, the Foreign Minister expressed his satisfaction on the overall relations and emphasized Thailand’s wish to further strengthen the existing cooperation, particularly in the area of human resources development. In addition, Foreign Minister Surapong also informed his counterpart of Thailand’s readiness to host the First Annual Consultation Meeting on Technical Cooperation with Timor-Leste this year to review the progress under the 3-year work plan (2010-2012) in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, public health and energy. Thailand has considered Timor-Leste to be a part of the Southeast Asia region and can enrich ASEAN through its links with the Pacific nations and the Portuguese-speaking countries. Thailand is ready to share experiences and knowledges with Timor-Leste to support Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN. During the last part of the discussion, Foreign Minister Surapong extended the invitation to the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste to attend the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit to be held in Thailand in May 2012.
Timor-Leste Foreign Minister also expressed his appreciation for Thailand’s support on its application to become the member of ASEAN as well as the existing cooperation. Timor-Leste is of the view that potential areas be further strengthened such as energy, tourism, infrastructure development and financial services. As Thailand continues to provide human resources development, students and officers of Timor-Leste have studied and been trained in Thailand especially in the medical field. Lastly, Timor-Leste Foreign Minister also thanked Thailand for dispatching military and police officers to the UN mission in Timor-Leste.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th