DILI, 15 october 2022 (TATOLI) – A delegation team of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, led by the Governor of Kupang, Victor Bangtilo Laiskodat, and the Governor of the National Defense Institute of the Republic of Indonesia, Andi Widjajanto, today, met with Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, and the President of the Republic, Jose Ramos Horta to discuss the development of the Free Trade Zone (FTZ), which had been previously discussed by President Horta and his Indonesian counterpart Widodo, in july.
During the meeting, the Indonesian team and the Timor-Leste side discussed important steps to be taken to accelerate the process for the establishment of the FTZ.
“We discuss steps to be taken by Indonesia and Timor-Leste to accelerate the process for the realization of the FTZ,” Widjajanto said after meeting Ruak and Horta in Dili, today.
He said the Indonesian government, under the leadership of President Widodo, wished to accelerate the preparation process for the establishment of the FTZ.
“We hope that this bilateral cooperation will be realized soon, which will allow both countries to build a high-performance economy to ensure economic growth,” said Widjajanto.
From Timor-Leste’s side, both President Horta and Prime Minister Ruak also expressed their wiliness to accelerate the development process of the FTZ.
“President Horta and Prime Minister Ruak prefer the Free Trade Zone to be established in the near future. Therefore, the technical preparations will be carried out by the two countries. We hope that the development of the FTZ would be kicked off in november or december” he concluded.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Nelia Borges
