REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE
MINISTÉRIO DOS NEGÓCIOS ESTRANGEIROS E COOPERAÇÃO
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 14 July 2005
For Immediate Release

Timor Leste will be the 25th Member of ASEAN Regional Forum

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Nelson Santos, yesterday spoke on behalf of the Senior Minister, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, concerning Timor-Leste becoming the 25th member of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on 26 July 2005.

"Since Timor-Leste gained independence, the ASEAN Standing Committee has always invited Timor-Leste to the opening and the closing ceremonies of the ASEAN Regional Forum's annual meeting. This is the third time that the Senior Minister will take part in the meeting. But this year will be very particular because Timor-Leste will also take up a seat as the 25th member of the ASEAN Regional Forum. This is a very important milestone for Timor-Leste's foreign diplomacy and also for our security," Mr. Santos said.

"For this ARF membership, on behalf of the Senior Minister, we would like to express our gratitude, particularly to Indonesia who spearheaded our campaign to join the ARF and also to other ASEAN countries who have
supported Timor-Leste's bid to become an ARF member. I note here that it's most lucky that a moratorium on the increasing membership of the ARF will be in place after Timor-Leste has being accepted. It is very important because geographically Timor-Leste is part of ASEAN, which implies that all other ASEAN countries now accept Timor-Leste as part of the region. Also, it's important for us to gain our goal one day of becoming a member of the ASEAN Organization. From my understanding, after becoming a member of the ARF, it will probably be easier for Timor-Leste to seek observer status in ASEAN," added Mr. Santos.

After his visit to Laos to attend the ARF meetings, the Senior Minister, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, will continue to Viet Nam, where he will accompany the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, H.E Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, on his State Visit.

The Senior Minister is expecting to return to Dili on 16 August after visiting Bangkok, Germany and Australia to attend seminars in his capacity as a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

-End-

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