Conference on East Timor

Conference on East Timor

CANBERRA (AFP): Officials of the UN, the World Bank and
various Australian government departments will meet here next
week to help businesses plan the rebuilding of East Timor,
officials said Friday.

A trade conference organized by the Australian government's
trading arm, Austrade, and aid agency, AusAID, will aim to
provide a detailed overview of reconstruction requirements for
the devastated territory.

It was left in rubble with more than half of its 800,000
population driven from their homes by an Indonesian military-
backed campaign of terror that followed East Timor's overwhelming
vote for independence in the Aug. 30 self-rule ballot.

Austrade said in a statement that the conference would ensure
Australian companies were aware of the scale of the
reconstruction required and how they could participate either
through multilateral organizations or AusAID.