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East Timor: international donors' conference set to open tomorrow in Oslo

East Timor: international donors' conference set to open tomorrow in Oslo

International donor countries will convene in Oslo, Norway, to review the progress of East Timor's transition to independence, the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET) said today.

The two-day conference, co-chaired by UNTAET and the World Bank and set to get under way on Tuesday, will focus on the steps to be taken in the run-up to East Timor's independence on 20 May 2002. It will also review the recently launched national development planning process and fiscal strategy.

The conference is being hosted by the Government of Norway and will be attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello, World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn, East Timor's Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri and Foreign Minister, José Ramos-Horta.

Previous donor meetings were held in Tokyo (December 1999), Lisbon (June 2000), Brussels (December 2000), Dili (March 2001) and Canberra (June 2001).