Timor Leste Hopes To Get Full Membership Support In ASEAN

The chairman of the Timor Leste National Parliament, Maria Fernanda Lay.

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives and President of the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) 2023 Puan Maharani held a bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the National Parliament of Timor Leste, Maria Fernanda Lay. In this meeting, it was also discussed about Timor Leste's membership in ASEAN.

Puan's meeting with the Timor Leste Parliamentary Delegation was held on the sidelines of the 44th AIPA General Assembly at the Fairmont Hotel. Puan was accompanied by Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives Charles Honoris, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) of the Indonesian House of Representatives and Member of Commission VIII Hasani bin Zuber (Ra Hasani).

Meanwhile, the Timor Leste delegation apart from the Speaker of Parliament Maria Fernanda Lay was filled by the Deputy National Parliament of Timor Leste Maria Terezinha Viegas, Member of the National Parliament of Timor Leste Maria Ang Marilica Rangel and Sancha Margarida Tilman. Also present at the meeting were the Ambassador of Timor Leste to Indonesia Agostinho Sim Barreto.

"I hope that Timor Leste can meet the criteria mandated in the Full Membership Roadmap ahead of the ASEAN Summit in September 2023," said Puan at the meeting.

Puan emphasized that Indonesia has always encouraged ASEAN countries to support Timor Leste's full membership in ASEAN. In fact, said Puan, the DPR also provides encouragement for external partners for Timor Leste.

Puan then mentioned the increase in cooperation between the two countries in various fields, such as the economy, trade and investment. He emphasized the importance of Indonesia and Timor Leste realizing the Bilateral Agreement in the Investment Sector (Bilateral Investment Treaty).

"This will create a more conducive investment climate and encourage more Indonesian investment in Timor Leste," said Puan.

Indonesia and Timor Leste have approximately 268.8 km of land boundaries which Puan considers need to regulate their connectivity. If the state boundary problem is over, it is hoped that this will increase border economic cooperation that will benefit the two countries.

"I hope that we can realize cooperation in border areas through the development of the Border Economic Zone," said Puan.

Regarding cooperation between Parliaments, the Indonesian House of Representatives views the importance of the role of parliamentary diplomacy, both bilaterally, regionally, and at the global level. According to Puan, Parliamentary Diplomacy needs to be done to strengthen inter-government diplomacy.

For this reason, Puan encourages the opening of opportunities for cooperation with the Timor Leste Parliament, through programs between leaders and members of parliament in order to share experiences in carrying out their functions as well as programs for exchanging employees between the Indonesian parliamentary secretariat and Timor Leste.

"We hope that Indonesia and Timor Leste will work closely together in various parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), AIPA, and also the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)," said Bung Karno's grandson.

In that moment, Puan congratulated the holding of the Timor Leste election in May 2023 with the election of Xanana Gusmao as the new Prime Minister of Timor Leste and Maria Fernanda Lay as the first woman to become the Speaker of Parliament in Timor Leste for the period 2023-2028.

"It is an honor for me to meet with you, Your Excellency, in this bilateral meeting between the Indonesian House of Representatives and the National Parliament of the Republic of Timor-Leste on the sidelines of the 44th AIPA General Assembly," said Puan.

In line with Puan's statement, Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives Charles Honoris revealed that the Timor Leste delegation asked for support from the Indonesian House of Representatives regarding their membership in ASEAN. Currently Timor Leste has become the 11th member of ASEAN, but its membership is not full so it cannot vote in general meetings held by forums in ASEAN.

Even at the AIPA General Assembly this time, Timor Leste only became a observer (observer) country. This is because Timor Leste has not officially entered as a member of AIPA because of its incomplete membership status in ASEAN.

"Timor Leste asked for support from Indonesia regarding his membership in ASEAN. So hopefully later in September at the ASEAN Summit meeting he can be declared a full member so that his parliament can also enter AIPA," said Charles.

When meeting Puan, Timor Leste also hoped that there would be an increase in cooperation in the field of education between the two countries. Remember, many Timor Leste students are studying in Indonesia.

"The Timor Leste Parliamentary Secretariat also wants to learn a lot from the DPR secretariat," he concluded.