This marks the second time President José Ramos-Horta has visited Vietnam, following his first visit in 2010.
Since their establishment of diplomatic relations on July 28, 2002, Vietnam - Timor Leste relations have developed in a positive manner on the basis of traditional friendship.
The two sides have maintained delegation exchanges at all levels and high-level contacts, especially on the occasion of ASEAN conferences. Thereby, the two sides have discussed and proposed cooperation orientations across many fields.
To promote bilateral economic cooperation, the two sides have signed a number of documents, including the Framework Agreement on Technical and Economic Cooperation, a trade agreement, and a memorandum of understanding on rice trade, among others.
The bilateral trade turnover was estimated at 15.9 million USD in 2023. The figure reached 6.1 million USD in the first five months of this year, an increase of 29.4% over the same period in 2023.
Vietnam's main export items to Timor Leste include rice as well as consumer goods and processed foods.
Last year, Vietnam exported 15,320 tonnes of rice to Timor Leste, worth nearly 8.8 million USD. In the first four months of 2024, Timor Leste imported 3,866 tons of rice from Vietnam, worth nearly 2.6 million USD.
Regarding investment, Viettel Telemor - an investment project of Vietnam’s Viettel Group in Timor-Leste - is a typical example of investment and business cooperation between the two countries.
Over the past decade, Telemor has gained many achievements and become one of the leading telecommunications service providers in Timor Leste. Telemor's important contributions to the development of the host country’s telecommunications industry are highly appreciated by Timor Leste.
In addition, the two countries have also promoted potential areas of cooperation, such as agriculture, fisheries, oil and gas, infrastructure construction, textiles, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange.
The ministries of education of the two countries agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding to create a basis for enhancing cooperation activities between the two sides.
Regarding multilateral cooperation, the two countries continue to strengthen cooperation and coordination at regional and international forums and organisations.
Timor Leste supported Vietnam's candidacy for international organisations, including the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 tenure, and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 term.
Timor Leste is in the process of joining ASEAN, and it was in principle admitted to become the 11th member of the Association in November 2022.
Based on the traditional friendship between the two countries, Vietnam has always strongly supported Timor-Leste in joining ASEAN. In coordinating support for Timor-Leste's efforts to this end, Vietnam has placed a particular focus on training and capacity building for officials, which will help to build a strong human resource foundation, promote the country's sustainable development, and facilitate international and regional integration.
Taking place at a time when Vietnam-Timor Leste relations have seen positive developments, President José Ramos-Horta's Vietnam visit is of great significance, aiming to contribute to strengthening political trust and promoting bilateral cooperation in a more substantive and effective manner in all aspects.
Warmly welcoming President José Ramos-Horta, Vietnam continues to affirm its consistent policy of always attaching importance to relations with countries in the Southeast Asian region, including Timor Leste.
May President José Ramos-Horta's State visit to Vietnam be a great success, contributing to further fostering the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Timor Leste.
