Acting FM Le Hoai Trung, Timor-Leste FM hold talks, share international integration experience
WVR - On September 16, in Hanoi, Member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung held talks with Timor-Leste's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito dos Santos Freitas.
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| Party Central Committee Secretary and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung welcomes Timor-Leste's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito dos Santos Freitas. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Welcoming Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas on his first official visit to Vietnam, Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung appreciated Timor-Leste's choice of Vietnam as the first stop in its tour of member countries ahead of its official ASEAN accession at the Summit in October 2025. The Acting Foreign Minister shared insights from Vietnam's experience when it joined ASEAN 30 years ago, highlighting the country's economic and social development achievements, improvements in the quality of life, and future development orientations, especially in foreign policy in the new era.
Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung emphasized that ASEAN member countries expect and look forward to Timor-Leste's accession as a timely and strategic addition to ASEAN's future. He affirmed that Vietnam will continue to actively support Timor-Leste in effectively participating and contributing positively to the ASEAN Community. This includes sharing experiences, practical lessons, capacity building, participating in programs to narrow development gaps. He also called on Timor-Leste to proactively collaborate with ASEAN in implementing the association's key plans, particularly the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
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| Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung at the talks. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas affirmed that Timor-Leste's leadership always places special importance on developing relations with Vietnam, the first country to recognize Timor-Leste's independence in 1975 and consistently offering valuable support in the nation's reconstruction and development process. He expressed gratitude to Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung for sharing valuable experiences on successful international integration and Vietnam's remarkable socio-economic achievements. The Minister also expressed a desire to further enhance the good cooperative relations between the two countries and their Foreign Ministries.
The two Ministers expressed delight at witnessing the positive and increasingly comprehensive development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2002, based on mutual respect, trust, and mutual benefit. On this basis, both sides agreed to workd closely to effectively implement bilateral cooperation areas, aiming to elevate the relationship to a new level soon. They agreed to continue enhancing exchanges of delegations at all levels, promote party channel cooperation, effectively implement the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, and organize the first Joint Ministerial Committee meeting. They also aim to finalize and sign the visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders, facilitating greater people-to-people exchanges.
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| Overview of the talks. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Discussing economic, trade, and investment cooperation, the two Ministers agreed to facilitate the trade of goods and expand market access for each country's products. This includes not only rice, Vietnam's main export to Timor-Leste, but also other products such as seafood and textiles. Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung urged Timor-Leste to further facilitate Vietnamese businesses in expanding investments, particularly in areas where Vietnam has strengths and Timor-Leste has demand, such as 5G telecommunications networks, providing digital service solutions for government agencies, and oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
The two sides also emphasized cooperation in other important areas such as security and defense, particularly in cybersecurity and peacekeeping cooperation within the United Nations framework, as well as education and training, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. They aim to effectively leverage new trends in digital transformation, innovation, and science and technology to help Timor-Leste successfully transition and diversify its economic structure, avoiding dependence on oil and gas, and moving towards sustainable development.
Regarding regional and international cooperation, both sides affirmed continued close coordination in multilateral and regional mechanisms. They emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety, and security of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
