The Vice-Minister for ASEAN Affairs and Timor-Leste’s representative at the Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM), Milena Rangel, took part in the 4th ASEAN-United Kingdom Senior Officials’ Meeting (AUKSOM) and the 32nd ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue, held in Da Nang, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, between April 8th and 10th. 

During the 32nd ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue, held on April 9, participants reaffirmed their commitment to consolidating the Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and New Zealand, as part of the celebration of 50 years of dialogue relations between the two parties. The meeting addressed issues such as strengthening regional peace and stability, economic integration, sustainable development, education and technical and vocational training. Joint initiatives on climate change, environmental protection and disaster risk reduction were also discussed. At the end of the meeting, the proposal to elevate the partnership to a comprehensive strategic level and the drafting of a new ASEAN-New Zealand Action Plan for the period 2026-2030 stood out. 

Vice-Minister Milena Rangel spoke at the session dedicated to promoting tourism between ASEAN and the city of Da Nang, sharing Timor-Leste’s vision and experiences in this sector, while participating in the conference “Meet ASEAN in Da Nang: Opportunities to Strengthen Cooperation between Da Nang and ASEAN Partners”. On the sidelines of the official dialogue, he also held a bilateral meeting with the New Zealand representative, Grahame Morton, Undersecretary of the Asia-Americas Group and New Zealand’s SOM leader, during which they discussed issues related to strengthening bilateral cooperation and New Zealand’s continued support for Timor-Leste’s accession process to ASEAN. 

On April 10, the Vice-Minister took part in the 4th ASEAN-UK Senior Officials Meeting, which focused on analyzing the implementation of the ASEAN-UK Action Plan 2022-2026, which currently stands at around 95%. Participants discussed prospects for future cooperation and activities to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the dialogue partnership, to be celebrated in 2026. Discussions focused on areas such as maritime security, cybersecurity, combating transnational crime and terrorism, women’s economic empowerment, artificial intelligence, green finance, smart cities, sustainable urban development and education. 

At the closing session, Vice-Minister Milena Rangel reiterated “Timor-Leste’s firm commitment to the ASEAN integration process and to strengthening cooperation with all the organization’s dialogue partners”. On behalf of the timorese Government, she also thanked “the continued support of ASEAN Member States, the United Kingdom and the ASEAN Secretariat for Timor-Leste’s accession process”.