THE Philippines reaffirmed its support for Timor Leste’s application to become the 11th member-state of the Association of South East Asian Nations, adding that Timor Leste belongs to Southeast Asia and should have its rightful place within the Asean community.
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario welcomed his counterpart, Timor Leste Foreign Affairs Minister Coelho Da Silva, who is in the country for an official visit.
It is the first time for Coelho to visit the Philippines, Del Rosario said, adding that the visit reaffirmed the strong partnership between the Philippines and Timor-Leste, which was established in May 2002.
The two ministers discussed enhancing cooperation in the areas of defense, economic relations, education, health, and technical capacity building, among others.
Del Rosario and Coelho also discussed the strong people-to-people linkages between the two countries and agreed to enhance economic cooperation as well as continue efforts to deepen relations through the Philippines-Timor Leste Policy Consultations mechanism, the first meeting of which was held in Manila in 2014.
The Philippine official also affirmed that “the Policy Consultations will continue to serve as a vehicle to facilitate matters of mutual interest in the years to come.”
Del Rosario encouraged as well his counterpart to continue sending Timor-Leste diplomats to the Philippines to participate in training courses offered by the Foreign Service Institute.
He hoped that the training program will significantly contribute to “the professional development of the participants and forge greater people-to-people linkages between the government of the Philippines and Timor Leste.”