President To Lam on August 1 hosted a red-carpet welcome ceremony for President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta who is paying a state visit to Vietnam from July 31 to August 3, according to a report from the Vietnam News Agency.

Following the welcome ceremony, the two Presidents started their talks to evaluate the cooperation results over the past time, and pen orientations for collaboration in the future. 

During the talks, the two Presidents sought measures to further promote all-round cooperation between the two countries.

President Lam underlined that the visit, the third by Mr. Ramos-Horta to Vietnam, including two as the President of Timor-Leste, will create new momentum for collaboration between the two countries.

The Vietnamese leader congratulated Timor-Leste for its socio-economic achievements, expressing his wish that the country will successful realize 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.

President Ramos-Horta, for his part, expressed his admiration for the revolutionary career as well as national construction and development of Vietnamese leaders and people, describing Vietnam as a model of development.

He affirmed that Timor-Leste attaches great importance to and hopes to further bolster the sound friendship with Vietnam. He took the occasion to once again express his deep condolences over the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The two sides shared their delight at remarkable progress in bilateral relations, with the maintenance of high-level exchanges and meetings, encouraging economic cooperation and rising two-way trade to expectedly higher than last year’s figure of $15.9 million. Vietnam’s Viettel telecommunications firm is operating effectively in Timor-Leste under the brand of Telemor, contributing to local socio-economic development, they noted.

The two leaders agreed to increase exchanges and meetings at high and all levels in the coming time, while efficiently implementing the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, working for the early organization of the first meeting of the Vietnam – Timor-Leste Joint Committee at the Foreign Minister level, and considering establishing new bilateral mechanisms suitable to the cooperation demands of the two countries.

President Lam affirmed that Vietnam is willing to supply rice to Timor-Leste, contributing to helping the country ensure food security. He suggested that the two sides extend or sign a new memorandum of understanding on rice trade, and encouraged Timor-Leste to import high quality products of Vietnam such as garments and textiles, footwear, beverages, dairy foods, processed foods, agricultural and aquatic products. The Vietnamese President proposed that Timor-Leste ratify the bilateral trade agreement signed in 2013 with Vietnam, creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to expand their operations and investment in the country.

President Ramos-Horta concurred to coordinate closely with Vietnam to create new changes in economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, expanding collaboration in promising areas such as agriculture, fisheries, exploiting and processing forest resources, mineral resources and metal ores and non-ferrous metals.

Timor-Leste supports Vietnam’s proposals in cooperation, grasping and taking advantage of new trends for development, he said, expressing his hope that Vietnam will continue sharing experience and assisting Timor-Leste in human resources development, food security ensuring, and poverty reduction.

The two leaders agreed to efficiently promote the cooperation potential in other important areas, especially agriculture, fisheries, telecommunications, education, oil and gas, infrastructure construction, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.

Discussing regional and international issues of shared concern, the two sides concurred to continue to cooperate with and support each other at international and regional organizations. President Lam highly evaluated the determination and efforts by Timor-Lester in realizing the roadmap to become a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), affirming Vietnam’s support to Timor-Leste’s full ASEAN membership at an early date.

President Ramos-Horta affirmed that his country totally supports Vietnam’s candidacies at multilateral mechanisms, including the UN Security Council, UN Human Rights Council, and other international organizations.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides committed to continuing to support the upholding of the law in maintaining peace, stability and ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, as well as the settling of disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the serious, full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the negotiations of a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC), contributing to maintaining peace, stability and development in the region.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on bilateral visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders.

Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations on July 28, 2002, Vietnam and Timor-Leste have seen substantial development in their friendship and multi-faceted cooperation. The two countries have maintained close ties and supported each other in the international arena, while leaders of both sides have kept high-level contacts.

Vietnam, together with other ASEAN nations and the ASEAN Secretariat, has always supported Timor- Leste to fulfil the criteria necessary for ASEAN membership.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Timor-Leste remains modest, mainly driven by Vietnam’s rice and garment-textile exports to the latter. Last year, Vietnam’s shipment to the country stood at $15.49 million, while its import was worth $371,000. In the first five months of this year, Vietnam sold $6.09 million USD worth of goods to Timor-Leste, up 29.4% year-on-year.

Regarding investment, Viettel Telemor run by Vietnam’s Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) has gained a firm foothold in Timor-Leste, with its investment capital rising to $15 million from the initial $500,000 in 2012, becoming one of the three largest telecom service providers in the country.

Timor-Leste holds substantial potential for Vietnam’s exports like rice, processed food, milk and dairy products, footwear, beverages, household utensils, and machinery. Meanwhile, to serve its economic activities in the coming years, Vietnam will need more inputs such as fuels (oil and gas), raw wood, and minerals, which are of Timor-Leste’s potential.

President José Ramos-Horta’s state visit is of significance to consolidating political trust while creating opportunities for both nations to continue discussing measures to boost their cooperation and deepen the bilateral ties, thus tightening the traditional friendship that has been nurtured over the past time, the news agency commented.