East Timorese Want Visa Exemption to Indonesia: Ambassador

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesian Ambassador to Timor Leste Okto Dorinus Manik said many East Timorese and entrepreneurs from the country have been requesting for a visa exemption program to Indonesia to support their economic activities.

Currently, as Indonesian citizens are allowed to enter the Timor Leste territory without visa, the East Timorese are hoping that the same free-entry regulation can be implemented for them to enter Indonesia.

“They’re asking for free-visa to be implemented for citizens in the country, similar to the one for Indonesians that come to Timor Leste,” Manik said during a business and investment forum in Oecusse, Timor Leste, on Sunday, June 26, as reported by Antara.

During the occasion, entrepreneurs are also asking for trucks, including the one that carry export commodities, to be allowed entry to Indonesia. However, Manik said the suggestions and recommendations will later be discussed by the central authorities.

The forum also discussed many regulations that are deemed necessary to revise to support business and investment, including the reimplementation of border-crossing pass (Pas Lintas Batas).

Timor Leste’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Joaquim Amaral said the forum resulted in many inputs that hopefully could be used to advance bilateral trade between the two countries. However, he also noted that many policies are still needed to become applicable to support East Timorese to invest in Indonesia.

“The recommendations from this forum have been recorded by Timor Leste government, including on permit and work visa. Coordination will later take place to improve service in the two countries,” Amaral.