FM meets East Timor counterpart to discuss strengthening bilateral relations

CAIRO – 24 July 2026: Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, met on Friday with Benedito dos Santos Freitas, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, Philippines.

Minister Abdelatty emphasized the importance Egypt places on developing relations with Timor-Leste (East Timor), noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. He highlighted the distinguished foundation laid by Egyptian forces in UN peacekeeping missions in East Timor before and during its independence, which provides a solid base for further bilateral cooperation.

Additionally, Minister Abdelatty congratulated Timor-Leste on its full accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025.

He expressed hope that this milestone would accelerate Timor-Leste’s regional integration, unlock broader horizons for capacity building, and create new opportunities for economic and technical partnerships. He further underscored Egypt's growing focus on deepening ties with ASEAN member states as part of its foreign policy strategy to expand partnerships with active regional blocs and leverage emerging economic opportunities in Southeast Asia.

During the meeting, Minister Abdelatty outlined several avenues for enhanced cooperation, particularly in training and capacity building. Egypt expressed readiness to expand agricultural programs through training grants from the Egyptian International Centre for Agriculture (EICA) and to support capacity building in the petroleum sector.

He also highlighted opportunities for joint training programs for military and police personnel in UN peacekeeping, counter-narcotics police training, and disaster response expertise sharing. Furthermore, he proposed reactivating diplomatic training programs for Timorese personnel through the Institute for Diplomatic Studies in Cairo. Commending existing cultural ties, Minister Abdelatty pointed to ongoing scholarships offered by Al-Azhar University to Timorese students, helping train personnel to drive local development.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both ministers reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination and mutual support in international forums, including reciprocal nominations within international organizations, reflecting the strong friendship and shared interests of both countries.