SINGAPORE (TOP) - President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta met with the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Tô Lâm before delivering his speech at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, May 29, 2026.
The two heads of state held high-level diplomatic and defense meetings on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La IISS Dialogue to strengthen regional security, bilateral ties, and economic partnership.
The Oe-Kusi Post (TOP) observe the meeting between the two heads of State lasted almost an hour.
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tô Lâm who is also Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, congratulated Timor-Leste on officially becoming a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2025, affirming that this is a historically significant milestone for Timor-Leste and the ASEAN development process, to open a phase of deeper cooperation and closer links between Timor-Leste and the countries in the region.
President Lâm said, Vietnam has always valued its friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation with Timor-Leste and ready to continue sharing experience in development, international integration, and close coordination with Timor-Leste within the ASEAN family.
Meanwhile, President of the Republic and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, José Ramos-Horta also congratulated Secretary General and President Tô Lâm on his election as President of Vietnam; expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s remarkable development achievements in recent year as well as its increasingly prominent role and position in the region and the world.
President Horta affirmed that Vietnam has always been a close friend and reliable partner to Timor-Leste, and expressed his hope that Vietnam will continue to share its experience in socio-economic development, institution building, human resource training, and international integration. He also thanked Vietnam for its full support for Timor-Leste's accession to ASEAN.
President Horta also informed that the current government continues to work hard on basic infrastructures, and has recently launched the construction project of the International Convention Center which is likely to be completed in 2028.
The President of TL also updated that, now there is a Japanese company that is investing in Laleia, Manatuto to produce ships and other areas.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the positive developments in Vietnam-Timor-Leste relations in recent times, especially the regular exchange of delegations and contacts at all levels, contributing to strengthening political trust and expanding cooperation in many fields.
The two sides assessed that cooperation in the economy, trade, investment, agriculture, telecommunications, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges continue to yield positive results, creating a favorable foundation for the substantive and more effective development of bilateral relations in the new phase.
President José Ramos-Horta highly appreciated Vietnam's establishment of its embassy in Dili from April 2026, considering it an important milestone that brings new momentum to bilateral relations and facilitates increased exchanges, connectivity, and effective implementation of specific cooperation programs.
Discussing future directions of cooperation, the two leaders agreed to continue promoting exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts; effectively utilize channels of cooperation between Party, State, Parliament, and people-to-people exchanges; effectively implementing, agreements reached; and strengthen the sharing of experience in governance, development, and international integration.
The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in areas where Vietnam has strengths and Timor-Leste has great needs, such as telecommunications, digital transformation, agriculture, energy, education and training, and high-quality human resource development.
The two leaders believe that strengthening links between businesses, communities, and the people of the two countries will contribute to expanding substantive cooperation and support Timor-Leste to increase its capacity to participate and contribute effectively to the ASEAN cooperation process.
Discussing regional and international issues of common concern, the two leaders agreed to strengthen consultation and coordination within ASEAN, the United Nations, and multilateral mechanisms and to work with ASEAN countries to consolidate solidarity, enhance internal cohesion, and promote ASEAN’s central role in the context of a continuously changing and complex regional and international environment.
The two Heads of State also highly appreciated the trust, sincerity, and spirit of cooperation that the two countries have fostered in the past; and agreed to continue close coordination to further develop Vietnam-Timor-Leste relations in a more substantive and effective manner, making a positive contribution to peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development in the region.
Secretary General and President Tô Lâm thanked Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão for accepting the invitation to attend and speak at the ASEAN Future Forum 2026 to be held in Vietnam in June 2026.
