Indonesia, Timor Leste Establish Cooperation on Defense

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The governments of Indonesia and Timor Leste, through the Ministries of Defense, have agreed to establish cooperation in the field of defense, in particular education and training.

A press statement received by Antara here on Tuesday stated that the Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu paid a courtesy call to the East Timor Defense Minister in Dili on Monday (February 1).

The visit was conducted on the sidelines of a working visit of the Indonesian Minister of Defense in order to review the Indonesian Health Care Mission on the Floating Hospital in the Port of Dili, East Timor.

Ryamizard said Indonesias Defense Ministry is ready to assist Timor-Leste, in particular to improve the capacity of the Timorese army personnel.

During this time, cooperation in defense related education and training between the two countries has been on, including Timor Leste Military Officers enrolling in Indonesias Military Command and Staff School.

Timor Leste has also sent several students to study at the Institute of National Defense as well as at a number of universities in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defense opens up opportunities for Timorese soldiers to learn engineering.

"The UN needs Engineering unit to build and improve places which are ravaged by war or natural disaster," Ryamizard stated.

The Defense Minister of Timor Leste, Cirilio Cristovao, said the defense cooperation between Indonesia and East Timor has been going on from the beginning. Both countries already have a cooperation agreement between their armed forces.

"To improve the quality and capability of the engineers, we hope we can send troops to undergo training in Indonesia," he said. (WDY)