Timor-Leste President concludes state visit to Vietnam

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta left Hanoi on August 3 afternoon, wrapping up his 4-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President To Lam.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta (3rd from right) visits the Military-run telecom group Viettel

During his stay, the leader paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid wreaths at the monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bac Son street in Hanoi.

He attended a red-carpet welcome ceremony and held talks with President To Lam. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on bilateral visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders. They visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and attended a honour banquet.

The Timor-Leste President had meetings with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

During the talks and meetings, the Vietnamese leaders emphasised that President Ramos-Horta's third visit to Vietnam will contribute to creating new momentum for cooperation between the two countries. They also thanked the leaders and people of Timor-Leste for their good sentiments towards Vietnam.

They congratulated Timor-Leste for its socio-economic achievements, expressing their wish that the country will successfully realise its plan on national strategic development in the 2011-2030 period, helping it integrate more deeply into the world and making positive contributions to peace, prosperity, and development in the region.

For his part, Ramos-Horta expressed admiration for the revolutionary cause and nation building, and development efforts by Vietnamese leaders and people, and described Vietnam as a model of development. He affirmed Timor-Leste's appreciation of and desire to further strengthen the friendly relations with Vietnam.

He took the occassion to once again extended his deepest condolences to Vietnam over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The leaders of the two countries expressed satisfaction at the notable progress in bilateral relations and the maintainance of substantial high-level exchanges and interactions. They discussed major orientations for future cooperation, agreeing to promote all-level exchanges and meetings; effectively implement the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation; expedite the organisation of the first meeting of the Vietnam-Timor-Leste Joint Committee at the Foreign Ministerial level; and explore the establishment of new bilateral mechanisms that meet the cooperation demand of the two nations.

The two sides also agreed to effectively utilise the potential for cooperation in other important areas, including agriculture, fisheries, telecommunications, education, oil and gas industry, infrastructure development, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Discussing regional and international issues of common concern, the two sides agreed to continue enhancing cooperation and supporting each other at international and regional organisations. Vietnamese leaders affirmed the country's support for Timor-Leste to soon become a full member of ASEAN.

As part of his visit, President Ramos-Horta engaged in an exchange programme with students of the Hanoi-based Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), made a field trip to the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the northern province of Bac Ninh, and had working sessions with representatives of the Thai Nguyen Uninversity and the Military-run telecom group Viettel./.

VNA