New Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta talks to Khmer Nights

It really is not everyday that you get to speak to a President, but today was that day for us. We were lucky enough to interview President-elect Jose Ramos-Horta just a day after he won a landslide victory of 62 percent in the election for president in the country of 1.3 million people

A former Nobel laureate having won the 1996 peace prize jointly with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, he served in the first, but brief independent Timorese government in 1975, before the Indonesian invasion which would see the country colonised for 27 years. He later served as both Prime-Minister and President following the nations independence 20 years ago.

When asked what his initial plans were as President he stated “The country is poor and people have suffered during the pandemic. We have a $20 billion sovereign fund and we need to start spending it to make peoples lives better”.  

Despite having wealth derived from oil and gas relatively little has trickled down to the common man, with the country having a GDP of just $1,381 in 2020.

To read our interview with the ambassador of Timor-Leste click here.

Will ASEAN membership be attained?

With Cambodia being staunch supporters of  Timorese membership in ASEAN President Ramos-Horta remained confident, although also realistic about their chances, stating to us .“With hindsight we were probably not ready for ASEAN membership when we first applied 11 years ago, but a lot has changed since then. We are now members of the WTO (World Trade Organisation), who essentially have the same criteria for membership as ASEAN, so we feel we are ready. Cambodia and the government of Hun Sen have also been steadfast supporters of our membership, so we are confident they can help make this happen during my term in office”.

Should Timor achieve its goal it would become the 11th member of the regional bloc. The country recently attained 3rd place in the ASEAN Under 22 Championship held in Cambodia, which you can read about here.

Timor-Leste as the hidden gem of southeast Asia

Despite having relative stability, friendly people, pristine beaches and some of the best diving in the region the country ranks as the 179th most popular tourist destination in the world, and the 5th least visited in Asia.

For some context its 79,000 visitors in 2019 put it just above places such as Afghanistan and Yemen in terms of tourist numbers, but far from being pessimistic Mr Romos-Horte sees hope, stating “There is so much we can learn from the Cambodian tourism sector from the bottom to the top-end, as well as the burgeoning eco-tourism sector. This is another area where we would welcome not just investment, but training”.

It was also noted that Timor could become a destination for Cambodian based citizens and residents, with direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Darwin. East Timor is one of the few countries that do not require a visa for Cambodian citizens. 

To read about visiting East Timor click here

President Jose Ramos-Horta invites Prime-Minister Hun Sen to inauguration

And it was not just tourists that Mr Ramos-Horte was keen to see in the country, stating “I would like to formally invite Prime-Minister Hun Sen to come to Timor-Leste for my inauguration. He has always been a firm ally of the Timorese people and we would be honoured to have him attend”. 

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