E. Timor to open five embassies

JAKARTA: The government of East Timor plans to open five embassies, one of them in Jakarta, East Timor's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando De Araujo said in Melbourne on Friday.

He said the other four embassies would be in Canberra, Lisbon, Washington D.C. and Brussels.

Speaking before 200 participants of a seminar hosted by Melbourne University in Australia, De Araujo said East Timor also wished to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Becoming a member of ASEAN would be expected to benefit East Timor economically, including increasing its trade.

De Araujo said nine ASEAN members, including Indonesia and Malaysia, had welcomed East Timor's interest in joining ASEAN.

However, he said Myanmar was opposed to the plan because of the relationship East Timor's leaders have with Myanmar's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. -- Antara