Korea and Timor-Leste to establish regular consultative body; strengthen cooperation on transnational crime and development cooperation

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung and Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta agreed on the 6th to establish a regular consultative body between the two countries and strengthen cooperation in areas including responses to transnational crime and development cooperation.
After holding a summit with President Horta at Cheong Wa Dae that day, President Lee said in a joint press statement that “we held useful and productive discussions to expand cooperation between our two countries.” The visit marks the first official visit to Korea by a Timor-Leste leader since diplomatic relations were established in 2002.
President Lee explained that “this consultative body will serve as an important channel not only for expanding cooperation across all areas of bilateral relations, but also for close communication and cooperation on regional and international issues, including ASEAN.” He added, “We also agreed to pursue an agreement waiving visa requirements for diplomatic and official passports to facilitate exchanges and cooperation between the two governments.”
The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation in responding to transnational crime. President Lee said, “With the signing of a technical arrangement on law enforcement cooperation, our two countries agreed to expand information sharing between law enforcement authorities and strengthen our capacity to jointly respond to transnational crime.” He added, “We agreed to further develop labor cooperation, including through the Employment Permit System, and to work together to ensure that workers from Timor-Leste can live safely and securely in Korea,” and said, “We also agreed to expand Korean-language education in Timor-Leste and strengthen cooperation in education and human resource development.”
The two countries will also expand practical cooperation on intellectual property and climate change response. President Lee explained, “Based on the memorandum of understanding on comprehensive cooperation in intellectual property, our two countries agreed to share intellectual property protection systems and experience and to strengthen the foundations for intellectual property protection in Timor-Leste.”
He added, “We agreed to work toward the early conclusion of the Agreement on Climate Change Cooperation and a memorandum of understanding on implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and to explore new opportunities for cooperation in the green economy.”
On development cooperation, he said, “We agreed to strengthen development cooperation to support Timor-Leste’s sustainable economic and social development,” adding, “We agreed to work toward the early conclusion of a framework agreement on grant aid and establish an institutional foundation for implementing development cooperation projects in a more stable and systematic manner.”
Congratulating Timor-Leste on joining ASEAN last year, President Lee explained, “Our two countries agreed to work closely together to help Timor-Leste successfully establish itself as a member of ASEAN and faithfully fulfill its role as ASEAN chair in 2029.” President Lee added, “We agreed that our two countries need to cooperate actively to ensure the successful hosting of the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit, which will also take place that year.”
On issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, he said, “I explained our government’s firm belief that creating peace in which there is no need to fight is the surest form of security, and presented a three-part blueprint for peaceful coexistence.”
He added, “President Horta expressed his full support for our government’s efforts to achieve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and cooperation.”
President Lee also spoke about the two countries’ democratic experiences, saying, “As it happens, our two countries use the same standard time,” and adding, “The time of Asian democracy begins in Korea and Timor-Leste.”

[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter