East Timor hosts talks on security with Australian, Indonesian police

Police officials from East Timor, Australia and Indonesia today held their first-ever trilateral talks to discuss a wide range of regional security issues ahead of the territory's independence next month, the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET) said today.

Representatives of the East Timor Police Service (ETPS) said the meetings were constructive and resulted in an agreement by which Australia and Indonesia would place full-time police liaisons in Dili in order to further trilateral cooperation.

Today's meeting, which included ETPS Police Commissioner Paulo Martins and UN Police officials, focused on efforts to increase cooperation among the three police forces, especially in the fight against cross-border crimes such as drug smuggling, money laundering and people smuggling.

The talks stemmed from a high-level meeting held in February in Denpasar, Indonesia, attended by UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello and representatives from Australia and Indonesia.