Indonesia, Timor Leste cooperate in human resources

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia and Timor Leste on May 6 signed a memorandum of understanding ( MoU ) on cooperation in developing human resources for the industrial sector in the two countries.

The agreement is part of the 2013-2017 human resources partnership contract worth 6 million USD between Indonesia and Timor Leste. Some programmes already underway are in human resource development in the fields of event organising, food processing and handicrafts.

Indonesian Industry Minister Saleh Husin said his country’s industrial development agencies provided 15 human resource capacity building training sessions from 2011 to 2016.

He said he hoped this MoU will push for more industrial development programmes in both countries.

Following the MoU signing, Indonesia and Timor Leste will set up technical committees and hold a survey to identify the needs for the programmes, he added.

Meanwhile, Timor Leste’s Trade, Industry and Environment Minister Constancio da Conceicao Pinto said the country has launched a sustainable development plan focusing on economic diversification.

Timor Leste is currently at the early stages of becoming an industrial country and human resources are the prerequisite for that, he said.

The minister further said industrial reform is important, especially in the context that Timor Leste is applying to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).-VNA