by Joachim Fischer, Phnom Penh

Indonesia has voiced support for East Timor´s bid to join the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

“ASEAN now has 10 nations as members and we´ve heard that the Government of Timor Leste wishes to join and we openly support ist”, Foreign Minister Marty natalegawa said using the country´s official name. There has been no formal discussion on the membership yet “ but Timor Leste has already conveyed its wish openly” the minister said at a retreat for the regional bloc´s foreign  ministers on the island of Lombok. Hios comments demonstrate how the relationship between Jakarta and Dili ( the capitol of Timor Leste) has improved in the recent years.

East Timor, a former Portugese colony, was invaded by Indonesia in 1975 as it moved towards formal independence, starting a 24-year occupation. It won its freedom in a 1999 United Nations backed referendum marred by violence that left an estimated 1.400people dead as Indonesian-backed militias laid waste to much of the country in a scorched earth campaign that displaced hundreds of thousands.

East Timor gained formal independence in the year 2002.

Indonesia this year assumes the revolving chairmanship of the 10-members Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from Vietnam, and will host the group´s annual summit and related meetings, steering the agenda for the year. Also the next ATF Tourism Minister and NTO` Meeting will be in January 2012 in Indonesia

East Timor is working very hard to have more tourism. Some foreign Nations and companies support the new country already. So is the owner of the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Dato Ong,working  and building a new and the first 5-Star Golf Resort in East Timor