DILI, 21 september 2022 (TATOLI)—The Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) is preparing an ASA (Air Service Agreement) agreement with five countries to connect Timor-Leste to the outside world.
Speaking to the media, The Minister of Transport and Communication, José Agostinho said the purpose of the agreement is to boost economic development in the tourism sector other than to connect the country with the outside world.
“We will make ASA agreements with China, Malaysia, Turkey, Kuwait, and the Philippines. And now the process is being discussed by the technical team,” said MTK Minister, José Agostinho at the TradeInvest office, Colmera, this tuesday.
He said the TL Government currently has the ASA agreement that has been ratified by the National Parliament with Indonesia, Australia, and Singapore adding that during his mandate Timor-Leste’s Minister José Agostinho has also signed an ASA agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Brunei Darussalam, and New Zealand.
“The ASA agreement has been signed and if it has been ratified by the National Parliament, the countries mentioned will provide their aircraft to do the regular operation in Timor-Leste Airport,” he said.
Agostinho said following the existing efforts, there will be 11 countries become Timor-Leste’s overseas liaison after the ASA agreement is ratified in the National Parliament.
According to Agostinho the role of MoTC is very important for the development of TL, one of which is to improve the tourism sector by providing connectivity to foreign visitors visiting this country.
Particularly in air connectivity, the Government is preparing construction for Nicolau Lobato Comoro International Airport which is expected to launch in December 2022.
Regarding the very expensive flight ticket price, Minister José Agostinho said that the price given was quite expensive because currently there is not much air connectivity in the TL so there is no competition between air transportation companies.
Even so, the prices given by aviation agencies are currently still following the standard agreement by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
“Everything is written in the ASA agreement, the price table is set according to the agreement from ICAO, so as long as the ticket sales agents follow the corridor table, we considered everything is well because the standard price for tickets has previously set,” he said.
In addition to air transportation, he acknowledged that TL still has to improve public transportation in the country to facilitate tourists who will visit.
Journalist: José Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Nelia B.
