Meet President Ramos Horta, Fadli Zon Discusses Timor Leste - Indonesia Reconciliation

Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Fadli Zon with the President of Timor Leste, Jose Ramos Horta (ist)

DILI - Chairman of the House of Representatives' Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP), Fadli Zon, carried out a meaningful diplomatic visit to Timor Leste earlier this month. During his visit, he met with a number of national figures and Timor Leste officials relevant to the diplomatic agenda.

The President of Timor Leste, Jose Ramos Horta, received Fadli Zon and his entourage from the Indonesian Embassy in Dili at his private residence. Meanwhile, a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Timor Leste, Mariano Asanami Sabino, took place at the Timor Leste government office complex in the city of Dili.

In his remarks, President Jose Ramos Horta welcomed Fadli Zon's visit sincerely and warmly as an expression of the friendly relationship between the two countries.

"Thank you for your visit, Indonesia and Timor Leste are friends," said the Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The meeting between the two took place in an intimate atmosphere without excessive formality for two hours.

President Ramos Horta shared his life experiences, past struggles, and interesting stories related to the arrival of Indonesia in Timor Leste. His relationship with world figures provides added value for Timor Leste diplomacy.

Jose Ramos Horta proposed the idea of reconciliation between Timor Leste and Indonesia, as well as the settlement of cases of human rights violations that have not been resolved.

Fadli Zon as Chairman of the BKSAP DPR RI welcomed the idea positively. "I fully support the idea of reconciliation from President Horta. This will end the remnants of complicated past conflicts and open a new chapter in relations between the two countries," he said.

President Horta hopes that in May next year, total reconciliation can be carried out, ending the legacy of the conflict that has been going on for a long time. Furthermore, President Horta will fight to make Indonesian as the official language in Timor Leste, in addition to the language of Tetum and Portuguese.

In addition, President Horta also proposed the restructuring of the UN Security Council on the basis of the principle of "Civilizational Balance". According to him, if the structure of the UN Security Council is based on culture, then Indonesia can become a representative of Islamic culture as the country with the largest Muslim population.

Fadli Zon really appreciated this idea, calling it a visionary concept. "This is a brilliant idea and upholds the principle of balance between civilizations," said Fadli Zon.

During this visit, Fadli Zon who was accompanied by representatives of the Indonesian Embassy in Dili also held a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Timor Leste, Mariano Asanami Sabino.

They discussed various aspects of cooperation between Timor Leste and Indonesia. This includes plans for the development of a joint Trade-Free Area, the management of water resources through rivers and dams, as well as development programs in rural areas and dam construction.

In the political sector, Deputy Prime Minister Asanami asked for help in training young cadres of political parties and empowerment as well as planting farmers.

Responding to the request of Deputy Prime Minister Asanami, Fadli Zon promised to try to continue this potential cooperation with the authorities. He said that the training of political party cadres could be facilitated by the Gerindra Party, while empowering farmers could cooperate with HKTI (Indonesian Farmers Harmony Association).

In closing this visit, Fadli Zon and the delegation of the Indonesian Embassy in Dili visited the Dili Heroes Cemetery to commemorate the services of Indonesian heroes who died during the conflict period in the former Indonesian province.