UN, East Timorese officials open customs post at West Timor border

United Nations and East Timorese officials today opened a new customs post at the border with West Timor, Indonesia, a further step in the normalization of relations between the fledgling nation and its neighbour.

The head of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), Sergio Vieira de Mello, and Chief Minister Marí Alkatiri led a delegation to the border town of Tonobibi in Bobonaro District, about 100 kilometres west of the capital Dili for the inauguration ceremony.

In his speech, Mr. Vieira de Mello urged that the border with Indonesia be viewed as a point of communication rather than conflict. The presence at the ceremony of West Timorese officials, including the commander of Indonesian forces, Brigadier General Willem da Costa, and Governor Piet Tallo, boded well for future relations between East and West Timor, he added.

For her part, East Timor's Minister of Finance, Madalena Boavida, said that customs revenue would be an invaluable source of future income, and that the border post inaugurated in Tonobibi reflected the importance of regulating economic transactions in the border areas.

The customs post, which the East Timorese Border Control System has been developing for some time, will allow East Timorese officials to collect taxes, quarantine goods, handle immigration matters and otherwise regulate trade across the common border.