Xanana starts five-day visit to Indonesia
Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here on Tuesday as part of a five-day visit to Indonesia.
Xanana and Yudhoyono are expected to discuss a number of important issues concerning the relationship between the two countries, presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said in a statement Monday.
Also during the meeting, the two will witness the signing of four bilateral agreements. These are a trade agreement, a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation in trade, an MOU on technical cooperation in small and medium industries, and an MOU on technical cooperation in drug and food control.
It will be Xanana’s first visit to Indonesia since being inaugurated as Timor Leste’s prime minister in August. (The Jakarta post)
Diplomatic ties between the two countries have heated up following Timor Leste President Jose Ramos Horta’s accusation that elements inside Indonesia were involved in a failed assassination attempt against him last month.
Both Indonesia and Timor Leste had hoped for closer ties following the completion of a 370-page report by the Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF).
The report contains the joint commission’s findings and conclusions on violence in the then province of East Timor following the UN-sponsored independence vote in 1999. However, the CTF was forced to delay the submission of the report to the Indonesian and Timor Leste presidents following the attempt on Horta’s life.
Xanana on Tuesday also will pay courtesy calls to House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono, People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid, Indonesian Military chief Gen. Djoko Santoso and National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.
The prime minister will also meet Indonesian businesspeople during a luncheon hosted by the Trade and Industrial Chamber.
On Wednesday, Xanana will speak at the Indonesian Council on World Affairs forum.
He will be accompanied during his visit by nine Timor Leste ministers.
