Countries & Regions

Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is visiting Brunei Darussalam to attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, held a meeting with Mr. José Luís Guterres, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, for approximately 40 minutes from just past 11:00 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, June 30. The outline of the meeting is as follows.

1. Opening

   Minister Kishida expressed his respect to Timor-Leste for its implementation of nation building based on democracy, and stressed that the completion of the UNMIT’s (United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste) mandate at the end of last year was a major achievement. In response, Minister Guterres said that bilateral relations between Japan and Timor-Leste are extremely good and that he would like to further strengthen those relations, including through private investment.

2. Bilateral Relations

   (1) Both ministers shared the view that they would continue to collaborate toward the success of the visit to Japan by Mr. Taur Matan Ruak, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which is scheduled to occur within this fiscal year.

   (2) Minister Guterres expressed gratitude for the consistent support offered by Japan for nation building in such fields as infrastructure development and defense cooperation. He also conveyed gratitude for Japan’s support for Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN. In response, Minister Kishida stated that Japan would continue to promote economic cooperation including infrastructure building and human resource development in a variety of fields in order to continue fully support for nation building in Timor-Leste, which has entered a stage of full-fledged development. He also expressed continued support for the smooth admission of Timor-Leste to ASEAN.

   (3) Minister Kishida stated that Japan will invite a number of youths from Timor-Leste through the JENESYS 2.0 program.

3. Cooperation in the International Arena, Regional Situations, etc.

   Both ministers confirmed cooperation in the international arena and exchanged views on situations in the Asia-Pacific region.