Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on Wednesday arrived in Manila for an official visit meant to boost the bilateral relations between the two nations.
Ramos-Horta was welcomed at the NAIA by Ambassador to Timor-Leste Belinda Ante and Manila International Airport Authority general manager Manuel Gonzales.
James Kon – Timor-Leste President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta conveyed his gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for the care and concern for Timor-Leste since achieving independence as well as the support for Timor-Leste's bid to join
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam on Monday received in audience Dr Jose Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste who is here on a four-day state visit.
Yohanes Maharso Joharsoyo, Jakarta – Indonesia and Timor Leste inked a bilateral agreement to support Timor Leste's membership at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement was signed during the Senior Official Meeting WTO in Geneva on October 23, 2023.
Moritz Schmoll and Geoffrey Swenson – Amid Southeast Asia's democratic backsliding, Timor-Leste's success is impressive. In May, the country elected a new parliament. In July, power was transferred peacefully from Fretilin to a National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT)-led coalition headed by Xanana Gusmao.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday received Jose Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, who is on a working visit to the UAE at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi.
Joao da Cruz Cardoso – The recent agreement between Timor-Leste and China to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership draws plenty of reactions.
Stephen Dziedzic – The President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta has suggested that Chinese diplomats turned down requests to develop police and military infrastructure in his country because they were worried about drawing an "overreaction" from Australia.
Kirsty Needham – Timor-Leste has not discussed military cooperation with China in its upgrade of diplomatic ties, President Jose Ramos-Horta said, adding Australia and Indonesia can "sleep at peace" because the island nation won't be a security concern to its neighbours.
East Timor has not discussed military co-operation with China in its upgrade of diplomatic ties, President Jose Ramos-Horta says, adding Australia and Indonesia can "sleep at peace" because the island nation won't be a security concern to its neighbours.
Beijing – China and East Timor have upgraded bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, potentially giving Beijing more influence in the region while satisfying the young half-island nation's desire for stronger ties with major economies.
On Tuesday, the Timorese government approved the signing of two memorandums of understanding with China, reports Lusa.
Ahlam Almazrooi/Amjad Saleh, Dili – Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia and ASEAN, presented his credentials as non-resident Ambassador of the UAE to the Democratic Republic of East Timor to Jose Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, during a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in the Timorese capital, Dili.
Henry Jom – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is confident that a deal to finalise an agreement with Australia over the Greater Sunrise gas and oil project will be reached by early 2024.
Christopher Knaus – Australia's parliament will be given only a limited ability to scrutinise unlawful and improper intelligence operations, prompting concerns it will not be able to meet a pre-election promise for an investigation of the 2004 Timor-Leste bugging scandal.
Anupam Shrivastava – PM Modi expressed his eagerness to engage with ASEAN leaders to discuss the future direction of their partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade.
Jakarta – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Timor island on Thursday, the meteorology and geophysics agency (BMKG) said on social media platform X, adding there was no potential for a tsunami.
The agency said the epicentre of the quake was on land at a depth of 75 kilometres (46.6 miles), and it was felt in Kupang, in East Nusa Tenggara.
Melissa Conley Tyler, Anders Hofstee and Kara Chesal – When Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong visited Dili last month, one of the projects she highlighted was the Timor-Leste South Submarine Cable.
Sebastian Strangio – Myanmar's military government has ordered Timor-Leste's senior diplomat to leave the country in retaliation for a meeting that his government held with the opposition National Unity Government (NUG).
Yangon, Myanmar – Myanmar's junta on Sunday ordered the expulsion of Timor Leste's top diplomat in the country over a meeting his government held with a banned shadow administration.
The Southeast Asian nation has been locked in crisis since the military seized power in February 2021, ending a brief experiment with democracy and sparking violent clashes.
Jakarta – Myanmar's military government has ordered East Timor's top diplomat to leave the country, the government of East Timor – a vocal critic of Myanmar's leadership – said in a statement condemning the rare action.
Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Timor Leste will "ideally" become a full-fledged ASEAN member in 2025 even though the country remains open to other time frames recommended by other Southeast Asian leaders, according to its president, Jose Ramos-Horta.
Lauren Ong and Calvin Yang, Dili, Timor-Leste – Singapore-owned businesses are investing millions of dollars in Timor-Leste's leisure and hospitality sectors.
These include five-star hotels, serviced apartments and an entertainment centre, which are among some of the biggest investments in the country so far.
GJ Burchall – The first of many things that strike you at polling places in Timor-Leste is the total lack of assaults on voters by how-to-vote card boosters – the sort that swarm all over Australian voters like demented, malaria-lugging mosquitos.
Party flags, banners and shills must keep at a respectful 25-metre distance. Ditto the automatic weapons.
Jakarta – Newly installed Prime Minister of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao has congratulated the National Awakening Party (PKB) on its 25th anniversary and praised the Muslim-based party for its contribution to improving the ties between Indonesia and its neighbor and former province.
Amanda Battersby, Singapore – Australian independent Carnarvon Energy has exited Timor-Leste, effectively drawing a line on any redevelopment of the Buffalo oilfield that until only recently some reports had claimed was still targeting the final investment decision in 2023.
Keval Singh – Singapore will establish an embassy in the Timor-Leste capital, Dili, according to a statement by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
The embassy will serve as a focal point to expand bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, tourism, defence, energy and human resources, the statement said.
Antara, Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and her counterpart from Timor Leste, Bendito Dos Santos Freitas, agreed to conclude both countries' long-halted negotiations on land and sea borders.
Jakarta – As ASEAN top diplomats meet in Jakarta, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his counterparts on the first day of a week-long series of meetings that the bloc is staging.
A Chinese naval hospital ship is to call at Timor-Leste as part of a humanitarian mission in the Pacific.
Named Peace Ark, the vessel set sail last week from a port in Zhoushan, in east China's Zhejiang Province, the Global Times reports.
Guteriano Neves – A successful 21 May election in Timor-Leste saw the smooth and peaceful transition of power to a new government led by Xanana Gusmao – new, in the sense of being newly sworn in, but consisting of several old political figures such as Gusmao himself, Francisco Kalbuadi, Bendito Freitas, Mariano Sabino and Dulce Soares, to name a few.
Matthew Knott – Foreign Minister Penny Wong struck an apologetic tone towards Timor-Leste in comments about Australia's use of hardball tactics to stymie the fledgling nation's efforts to secure access to oil and gas riches in the Timor Sea after it won independence from Indonesia.
One person has been killed and almost 300 houses destroyed due to the severe weather that has affected Timor-Leste in the past week.
Gantry Meilana – Former Timor-Leste independence fighter Xanana Gusmao was sworn in on Saturday as prime minister of Asia's youngest country after his party won the parliamentary election in May.
Dili – Timor-Leste's first democratically elected head of state, Mr Xanana Gusmao, returned to power on Saturday, eight years after he resigned as prime minister of South-east Asia's youngest democracy.
Church officials in Timor-Leste have dismissed a media report on the abusive treatment of students and substandard food in a seminary as false, terming it an attempt to tarnish the image of the church.
Phusadee Arunmas – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has endorsed a roadmap outlining steps for Timor-Leste to become the bloc's 11th member, a move that will benefit Thailand economically, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
Damien Kingsbury – Timor-Leste's resistance-era leader, Xanana Gusmao, is set to resume his county's presidency. This follows his National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party's resounding success in Timor-Leste's May 2023 election.
Between 2018 and 2022, rice production in Timor-Leste more than doubled, while the area devoted to the crop grew by almost 47%, according to unreleased government data seen by the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Graeme Dobell – Craig Stockings's work on the official history of Australia's role in the bloody birth of Timor-Leste was bedevilled by Canberra's triangular relationship, vexed but vital, with Indonesia and East Timor.
President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta on Sunday said some countries see China's development as a threat to the region and the world, adding such a "tunnel vision" is narrow-minded and unconvincing.
Henry Jom – Timor Leste's independence fighter and first president Xanana Gusmao is set on pushing Australia for a gas pipeline to be built from the Greater Sunrise fields in the Timor Sea to his country's south coast if his party wins the country's parliamentary election.
Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – With the victory of his CNRT Party in the May 20 elections, and his ability to form a strong coalition with a smaller party, Timor-Leste's independence hero Xanana Gusmao is moving closer to realizing his ambition to integrate the young nation into the globally influential ASEAN, with the strong backing of its former colonizer Indonesia.
Sacha Shaw – A parliamentary election and the climax of a month of celebrations marking the anniversary of independence came and went last weekend in Asia's youngest nation, Timor-Leste. By Tuesday, May 23, the results were in: Xanana Gusmao's National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT) won from opposition, taking 31 out of a possible 65 seats in parliament.
Geoffrey Swenson – After a spirited election campaign, the people of Timor-Leste voted for a new parliament on May 21. The vote was free, fair and largely uneventful. The results were accepted. This is a remarkable accomplishment for democracy.
Gantry Meilana – Timor-Leste's opposition party won Sunday's parliamentary election, meaning independence fighter Xanana Gusmao is likely to return as prime minister in Asia's youngest democracy.
Dili, Timor Leste – Timor Leste independence hero Xanana Gusmao's party was leading with two-thirds of votes counted in a parliamentary election, state media showed on Monday, heralding a possible return to power for the former rebel after nearly a decade in opposition.
Marian Faa, Dili, Timor-Leste – South-east Asia's youngest nation went to the polls on Sunday, with analysts' predictions of a tight result largely coming to fruition.
On Monday afternoon, Mr Gusmao's party CNRT had polled just short of 40 per cent of the vote, with counting continuing on Monday and into the week.
Dili, Timor Leste – Timor Leste holds parliamentary elections Sunday with independence hero Xanana Gusmao hoping to make a comeback as prime minister and end political deadlock in Asia's youngest country.
The polls are the fifth for the legislature since Timor Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.
Jakarta – East Timorese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election that analysts said would likely see two resistance-era figures battle to be prime minister.
Sunday's poll is the country's fifth parliamentary election since East Timor gained full independence in 2002 following decades-long occupation by Indonesia.