KUALA LUMPUR DEC.12: The President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, is on a Special Visit to Malaysia today and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to congratulate for his appointment as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dr. José Ramos-Horta is also taking stock of Malaysia-Timor-Leste bilateral relations and exploring new areas of cooperation.
“The President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is also scheduled to have an audience with His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’ In Billah,” the statement said.
The Ministry’s statement added, Malaysia and Timor-Leste maintains the warm and friendly relations which precedes Timor Leste’s independence in 2002. This was evident when Malaysia was the first country to set up a Liaison Office in Dili on 13th April 2001 and the first among ASEAN countries to set up an Embassy in Dili on 19th May 2002.
“Malaysia has been actively supporting Timor -Leste in terms of its social, security, and economic developments by providing capacity-building training courses for its officials through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP),” the statement said.
The statement also emphasized that in 2021, Malaysia is Timor-Leste’s eighth largest trading partner, ranked thirteenth as an export destination, and ranked seventh as an import source. From January to October 2022, the total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Timor-Leste was recorded at USD 84.6 million with total export at USD 62.8 million and total import at USD 21.8 million. – Malaysia World News
