Kuwaiti-East Timorese Relations

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Kuwaiti-East Timorese Relations
Location of Kuwait and East Timor
KuwaitKuwait East TimorEast Timor
Kuwait East Timor

The Kuwaiti-East Timorese relations describe the interstate relationship between East Timor and Kuwait .

history

In the years since its independence, East Timor has had significantly more contacts with Kuwait than with most other Gulf states. Although the occupation of Kuwait by Iraq and the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia are sometimes compared, there are clear differences in the respective prehistory and especially in the later course. The intervention of the USA and the United Nations in the Second Gulf War in 1990 fueled the hope of many East Timorese for support in their struggle for independence, which was not fulfilled by 1999. Both invasions violated the principles of self-determination of the peoples and the inviolability of the territories. Although the East Timor’s government-in-exile only had observer status at the United Nations in 1990, it was one of the first to condemn the Iraqi invasion and support Kuwait, which the Arab country took note of.

The Kuwaiti Ambassador to Indonesia, Mohammed Fathil Khalaf, was present at the East Timor’s independence celebrations on May 20, 2002.

In December 2003 the two states signed a protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations through the exchange of ambassadors. In 2004 Kuwait took part in a donor conference in Dili . In May of the same year, East Timor's Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri, who was of Arab origin, visited Kuwait. Visits by Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta and Interior Minister Rogério Lobato followed. The Kuwaiti Red Crescent built a desalination plant worth US $ 600,000 in 2005.

In 2006, José Ramos-Horta (now Prime Minister) visited Kuwait and signed several letters of intent on economic development and strategic partnership with Kuwait. Among other things, this affected the areas of oil, banking and tourism in East Timor. After the unrest in East Timor , Kuwait dispatched medicines, complete ambulances, a medical unit, blankets and other relief supplies in August. In December, the two states agreed to create the East Timor Trading Company (ETTC), wholly owned by Kuwait, but 30 percent of its profits going to East Timor. The joint venture was supposed to build a gas station network in East Timor and operate it for at least ten years. However, the plans were not implemented.

On June 1, 2007, Nasir al-Muhammad al-Ahmad as-Sabah , the Prime Minister of Kuwait, visited Dili. The Prime Minister only spent a few hours in East Timor. The cooperation pact that was signed was still negotiated under the Alkatiris government and prepared by his two successors until it came into effect. The treaty contains the legal framework for technical and economic cooperation between the two countries, such as the protection of investments, mutual promotion, cooperation in the trade sector and the establishment of joint committees. East Timor's Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva was hoping for Kuwaiti support in expanding the East Timorese oil sector.

Interior Minister Rogério Lobato had been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his role in the 2006 riots. On August 8, 2007, following a medical certificate , Lobato was allowed to leave the prison for a medical examination due to problems with the prostate and heart. But after this he drove with his family to Dili airport and boarded a Learjet made available by the Kuwait government. The next day Lobato left Dili, later had an operation in Malaysia and then lived in Bali . His sentence was waived in 2010 for “good conduct in detention”. He had only spent five months in prison.

In October 2008, East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão visited Kuwait for a week. The delegation also included Finance Minister Emília Pires , Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa and Infrastructure Minister Pedro Lay . Another agreement for further cooperation and economic development measures has been signed. Kuwait should invest in the development of the East Timorese infrastructure. East Timor’s gateway to the Gulf region and the Arab world .

diplomacy

Prime Minister Nasir al-Muhammad al-Ahmad as-Sabah announced the construction of a Kuwaiti embassy in Dili during his visit in 2007. So far it has remained with the announcement. The Kuwaiti ambassador in Jakarta, Indonesia, is also accredited for East Timor .

East Timor also had plans to open its first embassy in the Middle East in Kuwait in 2005 , and Prime Minister Alkatiri said that this would be considered as soon as the right person for the post was found. These plans have not yet been implemented either.

economy

The East Timor Statistical Office does not indicate any trade relations between East Timor and Kuwait for 2018 .

Web links

Commons : Kuwaiti-East Timorese Relations  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robin Andersen, Jonathan Gray (ed.): Battleground: The Media , 2007, ISBN 9780313341670 .
  2. ^ Constancio Pinto, Matthew Jardine: Inside the East Timor Resistance , 1997, ISBN 9781550285888 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f KUNA: Kuwait, East Timor are bound with strong relations , June 2, 2007 , accessed on January 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Kuwait Imes: E Timor to open its first Mideast embassy in Kuwait , April 14, 2005 , accessed on January 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ Macau Hub: East Timor and Kuwait create gas and oil distribution company , December 19, 2006 , accessed January 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b SAPO: Timor-Leste: Visita de PM do Kowait lança cooperação bilateral , June 1, 2007 ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 12, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / noticias.sapo.pt
  7. ^ Gordon Peake: Rogerio Lobato: From inmate to president? , The interpreter, The Lowy Institute for International Policy, February 15, 2012
  8. ^ The Age, May 23, 2008, Ramos Horta cuts jail terms for militia
  9. ^ Tempo Semanal, May 26, 2010, Rogerio Lobato Returns to Timor-Leste
  10. ↑ Uma Lulik: PM Xanana Gusmão em visita oficial ao Kuwait , October 29, 2008 , accessed on January 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ Direcção-Geral de Estatística: External Trade Statistics Annual Reports 2018 , accessed on April 17, 2019.