Timor Leste president to visit RP this month

MANILA, Philippines – President Jose Ramos-Horta of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is scheduled to make a state visit to the Philippines from Aug. 10 to 13. 

President Horta will be accompanied by Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Zacarias Albino da Costa. Horta and Da Costa will meet with President Arroyo and other Philippine government officials to discuss ways of further strengthening bilateral relations between the Philippines and Timor Leste.

The highlight of President Ramos-Horta’s visit will be the signing of three bilateral agreements, namely: 1) Memorandum of Agreement of Marine and Fisheries Cooperation; 2) Memorandum of Agreement of Academic Cooperation; and 3) Memorandum of Understanding on the Training and Development of Timorese Diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute.

The Timorese leader has visited the Philippines twice before: first, as foreign minister in 2002, and second, as prime minister in 2007. This will be his first time to visit the Philippines as president of his country.

President Ramos-Horta was initially scheduled to visit the Philippines in April last year to take part in a lecture tour of Nobel Prize laureates titled “Bridges: Dialogues Toward a Culture of Peace.” The visit was canceled due to an assassination attempt against him and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xananan Gusmao on Feb. 11, 2007.

The Philippines was among the first to express its support for Timor Leste when the latter gained full independence from Indonesia in May 2002.

President Ramos-Horta is the second elected President of Timor-Leste. The first was Gusmao, now the country’s prime minister.

The Philippines and Timor Leste share the distinction of being the only predominantly Catholic countries in Asia. – Marvin Sy