From March 4^th to 7^th, 2024, the Geosciences Institute of Timor-Leste (IGTL – acronym in Portuguese) and the National Minerals Authority (ANM  – acronym in Portuguese) participated in the 82nd Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) Steering Committee (SC) Meeting, held in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. 

CCOP is a regional organisation whose mission is to promote cooperation in the field of geosciences between the region’s countries. During this meeting, representatives of the member countries met to discuss important issues for the sector, establish action plans, and make strategic decisions for the future of geoscience initiatives in the region. 

The event, organised by Cambodia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, was attended by delegates from several member countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It was also attended by the CCOP advisory group and the Director and staff from the CCOP Technical Secretariat. 

The main highlight of this meeting was Timor-Leste’s return to the CCOP after a seven-year interregnum. This achievement results from collaborative efforts led by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Francisco da Costa Monteiro, and the Director of CCOP, Young Joo Lee. As a result, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources formally appointed Job Brites dos Santos, President of the Geosciences Institute of Timor-Leste (IGTL), as Permanent Representative, and Rafael Danilson Magno de Araujo, President of the National Minerals Authority (ANM), as Deputy Permanent Representative to the CCOP.

Over the past seven years, this absence from Timor-Leste has resulted in missed opportunities, especially concerning sharing advanced knowledge in geosciences and other essential areas. This return is extremely important to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration between member countries, especially in geosciences, and provide scholarship opportunities for Timorese to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in geosciences in developed countries such as Japan, South Korea and China.

CCOP member countries warmly welcomed Timor-Leste’s reintegration and expressed hope that the country’s participation in this organisation would benefit the country and the entire region.