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UN, East Timorese leaders invited to attend ASEAN meeting

UN, East Timorese leaders invited to attend ASEAN meeting

Senior officials of the United Nations transitional administration and East Timorese leaders have been invited to attend the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next week in Hanoi.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), will lead a delegation to Hanoi for the meeting, scheduled for 23 to 24 July. The group includes his Chief of Staff, N. Paranmeswaran, Xanana Gusmão, Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs José Ramos-Horta, and East Timorese diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs of the East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA).

For the second year in a row, the host of the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting has invited UNTAET and the East Timorese leadership to attend the forum. East Timor/UNTAET will participate in the opening and closing sessions.

From Hanoi, Mr. Vieira de Mello and Mr. Ramos-Horta will travel to New York for a UN Security Council meeting on East Timor, scheduled for 30 July.

In other news, China donated $3 million dollars worth of fishing equipment to East Timor to help the fishing industry following the loss of equipment during the violence of 1999.

The donated equipment includes 1,500 panels of fishing net, 3 tonnes of fishing line, 500 insulated iceboxes, 300 outboard motors, 200 lifejackets and other assorted items.