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The South Korea-Timor-Leste Foreign Ministers' talks were held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on the 29th. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held a meeting with Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas on the 29th, exchanging opinions on measures to develop bilateral relations and regional situations.

The two sides held a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul on this day, agreeing to further expand cooperation in fields such as education, human resource development, and government capacity building.

They also decided to actively seek cooperation measures in the maritime and infrastructure sectors along with climate change cooperation, including international greenhouse gas reduction mitigation projects and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Concurrently, they agreed to expand cooperation in the policing field for coordination against transnational crimes.

Minister Cho stated at this venue, "The special bond shared during Timor-Leste's independence and nation-building processes, such as the past deployment of the Sangnoksu Unit (PKO), is a great asset for bilateral relations," adding, "South Korea will become a true friend and cooperation partner in the process where Timor-Leste successfully integrates into ASEAN and accelerates national development." South Korea previously deployed the Sangnoksu Unit on a scale of approximately 3,000 personnel to Timor-Leste from 1999 to 2003, deploying public order maintenance and resident relief activities.

Minister Cho subsequently promised active support at the South Korean government level regarding the ASEAN integration process of Timor-Leste, which joined as an ASEAN member state this past October.

In response, Minister Freitas replied by supporting South Korea’s 'ROK-ASEAN CSP Vision' and various cooperation projects currently being pursued. Minister Freitas then emphasized that he highly values relations with South Korea, expressing hope to further develop not only bilateral friendly relations but also the ROK-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership taking this meeting as an opportunity.

Minister Cho also explained our government's policies to realize peaceful coexistence between South and North Korea and a 'growing together Korean Peninsula' during this meeting. In response, Minister Freitas expressed intentions of cooperation and support regarding this.

                                                                                                          Mok Yong-jae