Timor-Leste has made tremendous progress in governing itself in the 17 months that the United Nations has been helping the newly independent country, but serious problems of security, order and economic transformation remain, the top UN envoy in the country said today.

While the United Nations mission in Timor-Leste has successfully assisted the country in maintaining stability and order, it is not certain whether the Government will be able to put all necessary structures in place before the UN's departure next year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

The security situation in Timor-Leste has been very quiet over the past few months, with none of the problems experienced late in 2002 and early this year reoccurring, the top United Nations police official in the country said today.

Secretary General Kofi Annan has named a senior Malaysian officer as the next commander of peacekeeping forces of the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET).