State President Nguyen Minh Triet on September 15 received Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Zacarias Albano da Costa, who is on an official visit to Vietnam.

President Triet said that Vietnam is willing to cooperate, provide support and share experiences in the fields of economy, culture, society and poverty reduction with Timor-Leste.

For his part, the Timor-Leste foreign minister said his visit to Vietnam aims to seek specific fields for cooperation between the two countries. He also informed the State President of the results of his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart.

He said the two sides have agreed to accelerate the signing of various agreements and the establishment of a joint committee to lay the foundation for cooperation on development between Vietnam and Timor-Leste.

Apart from promoting economic, scientific and technical, transport, medical and agricultural cooperation, the two sides also agreed to soon sign an agreement on investment promotion and protection so as to boost investment in Timor-Leste, he added.

The minister noted that Timor-Leste welcomes the cooperation between the business communities of the two countries and calls for Vietnam’s support for its joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

President Triet suggested that the two countries should create specific activities to introduce their areas of potential and current strengths as well as further promoting bilateral cooperation.

He also confirmed Vietnam’s support for Timor-Leste’s participation in ASEAN and hoped that it will create favourable conditions for the two countries’ cooperation./.