"We aimed to continue what we already planned."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government of Indonesia and Timor-Leste are ready to move the triangular initiative with Australia forward, after the visible areas of cooperation agreed by each member country.
The Indonesia Foreign Affairs Ministry Deputy Director of East Asia and Pacific Affairs Directorate, Andalusia Tribuana Tungga Dewi, said to Antara journalist here on Monday (Jan 12), that the visible cooperation on economic and social fields had been studied by the Charles Darwin University, Australia.
"Australia is the funding party for the priority and potentials cooperation areas mapping that organized by the Charles Darwin University," she said.
According to Dewi, the triangular cooperation was used to be initiated by Timor-Leste in 2010 to become a bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, but then Australia government was interested to join in regards with the potentials to develop the Eastern Indonesia, Timor-Leste and northern Australia.
Dewi added the Letter of Intent (LoI) of the cooperation was signed by former Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa and his counter part, Zacarias Albano da Costa in 2012.
The cooperation became triangular after the leaders of the countries: former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard met in Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in November 2012 and agreed to expand the scope of cooperation.
"And now, we are ready to move forward after the preliminary result of the study on visible cooperation announced," Dewi noted.
Dewi added that the study was important to support the road map of the triangular cooperation into an action plan that can be implemented in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Australia.
At the same time, the Timor Leste Head of Mission Unit and State Representative of Integrated Development of Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Australia, Joao Mendes Goncalves, said that the triangular cooperations purposes were inline with the ASEAN connectivity idea.
The cooperation among Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Australia alo aimed to increase physical connectivity (road and maritime infrastructure), institutional connectivity (open governance and regulation) and people-to-people connectivity.
"While the scope of activities will be doing through economic and social sectors, including business, tourism, investment, health and education, sport and cultural interchanges," he said.
Goncalves also explained that during his visit to Indonesia, he leads a delegation of Timor-Leste officials to reactivate the initiatives of triangular cooperation with the new government of Indonesia under President Joko Widodos administrative.
"We aimed to continue what we already planned," he stated.
Hopefully, Goncalves added that after the road map agreed and visible areas of cooperation explored in the next February, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) could be signed by Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Australia.
(T.A060)
Reporter: Azi Fitriyanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
