Progress expected as East Timor, Indonesia meet to discuss border issues, UN mission says

Some 50 officials from East Timor and Indonesia this morning began a three-day meeting aimed at fostering good relations and furthering the normalization of activities along the border between the two countries, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) said today.

This is the third time the Joint Border Committee (JBC) has convened, and the first time the committee has held bilateral negotiations in East Timor. The Committee last met in July in Jakarta.

According to UNTAET, the East Timorese agenda includes developing a general mutual understanding of what “border normalization” entails and endorsing an Indonesian “Right of Transit Passage” proposal that will allow East Timorese to travel between the Oecussi enclave in West Timor and the other districts of East Timor.

The recommendations from the JBC meeting are expected to be passed on to the Council of Ministers of East Timor and the Indonesian Government for discussion and approval. Agreements reached will eventually be passed on to the Border Liaison Committee for implementation.

The heads of the two delegations, East Timorese Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando de Araújo, and the Head of the Research and Development Board at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Yusuf, each expressed great satisfaction over the convening of the meeting in Dili, and their strong hope for the JBC’s continued progress.