Viet Nam, Timor-Leste agree to deepen multifaceted cooperation

Welcoming Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão on his official visit to Viet Nam and attendance at the third ASEAN Future Forum, Prime Minister Le  described the visit as a testament to the strong political trust, traditional friendship, and close cooperation between the two countries.

The Vietnamese leader congratulated Timor-Leste on its recent achievements, particularly its official accession to ASEAN, describing it as a significant milestone that contributes to the bloc's solidarity, centrality, and dynamism. He expressed confidence that Timor-Leste will actively and effectively participate in ASEAN cooperation mechanisms and contribute to regional peace, stability, and sustainable development.

For his part, Gusmão congratulated Viet Nam on its impressive socio-economic accomplishments and the successful organization of the third ASEAN Future Forum, which he said serves as an important platform for discussing regional cooperation and future development.

He thanked Viet Nam for its consistent support throughout Timor-Leste's ASEAN accession process, affirming that Viet Nam is a trusted friend and an important development partner of Timor-Leste.

The two leaders agreed that both countries possess significant potential and complementary strengths to expand cooperation for the benefit of their peoples and for promoting stable, resilient, and sustainable development in the region.

They pledged to further consolidate political trust through increased exchanges and contacts at all levels, while promoting cooperation between their parties, states, governments, parliaments, and peoples.

The pair agreed to effectively implement existing agreements, including the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, and to convene the first meeting of the Viet Nam–Timor-Leste Joint Committee, co-chaired by the two foreign ministers. The mechanism is expected to help elevate bilateral relations ahead of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2027.

The leaders welcomed the signing of several cooperation documents during the visit, including agreements on visa exemption, education, and information and communications, which are expected to facilitate people-to-people exchanges and broader cooperation.

On economic cooperation, both sides agreed to better capitalize on their respective strengths, accelerate the ratification and implementation of the Bilateral Trade Agreement, and expand collaboration in areas such as rice, agriculture, fisheries, textiles and garments, footwear, consumer goods, telecommunications, digital transformation, infrastructure, and services.

Gusmão expressed his hope that Viet Nam would continue supplying rice and other essential products to Timor-Leste, thereby contributing to the country's food security. He also praised the contributions of Vietnamese enterprises, particularly Viettel through its Telemor brand, to the development of digital infrastructure and connectivity in Timor-Leste, and encouraged further Vietnamese investment in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure, and natural resources.

Le proposed that both sides expedite negotiations on an agreement on investment promotion and protection and explore the establishment of a bilateral mechanism on economy, trade, and investment to facilitate business cooperation.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in defense and security, agriculture, fisheries, food security, education and training, human resources development, culture, tourism, sports, transport connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges. They underscored the importance of sharing experience in sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, marine economic development, and sustainable fisheries.

Prime Minister Le reaffirmed Viet Nam's readiness to share its development experience, support international integration efforts, provide human resources training, and dispatch experts in areas of Timor-Leste's demand.

Regarding multilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to enhance coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, ASEAN, and other regional and international forums, while working together to uphold ASEAN's solidarity and centrality, promote peace, stability, cooperation, and development, and support international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The two Prime Ministers tasked relevant ministries and agencies with implementing the agreements and understandings reached during the talks, with a view to further deepening the substantive and effective development of Viet Nam–Timor-Leste relations.

Following the talks, the two sides exchanged several cooperation documents, including memoranda of understanding on higher education and educational cooperation, a visa exemption agreement for holders of ordinary passports, and an MoU between the Viet Nam News Agency and the TATOLI News Agency./.