Luanda — Angola and East Timor signed three agreements on Monday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, in a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two countries, João Lourenço and José Ramos Horta in Luanda.
These include a memo on bilateral political consultations, visa exemptions in diplomatic and service passports, as well as between the Diplomatic Academy (Angola) and the Center for Diplomatic Studies (East Timor).
Ramos Horta is in Angola for a three-day official visit that started Monday.
History of cooperation
The two countries established bilateral relations in May 2002.
Since then, the parties have developed a series of policies and public consultations with a view to strengthening ties in their mutual interest.
In June 2011, the two countries signed two cooperation agreements in the fields of military technical assistance and oil.
At the time, Angola offered to provide technical assistance to the Asian country in the oil and gas sectors.
As part of the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries, in January 2023, Presidents João Lourenço and José Ramos-Horta met in Brasilia, Brazil, on the sidelines of the inauguration of President Lula da Silva.
The meeting revolved around the expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries.
President Ramos Horta expressed his desire to boost and expand diplomatic relations, consultations and greater cooperation, underlining that in his view, Angola is a country of great inspiration, taking into account that the nation supported East Timor in its liberation struggle for independence.
Members of the CPLP
The two countries are part of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and have cooperated in various areas within the organization.
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East Timor is a country located on the island of Timor in Southeast Asia. Its capital is the city of Dili.
The country has a tropical climate and mountainous terrain. It is home to 1.3 million inhabitants, most of them living in rural East Timor. The country was a Portuguese colony until 1975, when it gained its independence.
A year later, however, it was annexed to Indonesia and only became independent again in 2002, when its sovereignty was internationally recognized. AFL/ART/TED/AMP
