The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, is currently in the Philippines for an official visit.

According to a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) over the weekend, Dos Santos Freitas will be in the Philippines until 21 August.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo is expected to meet with Dos Santos Freitas to discuss the current state of the bilateral and multilateral relationships between the Philippines and Timor-Leste, as well as to exchange views on regional and international developments.

This marks the first official visit of Minister dos Santos Freitas to the Philippines as foreign minister since he assumed the role in 2023.

In 2022, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed, in principle, to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member of the regional bloc.

The ASEAN leaders, composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, also granted Timor-Leste observer status at high-level ASEAN meetings.

“The Philippines welcomes Timor-Leste’s progress in implementing the Roadmap towards Timor-Leste’s full membership in ASEAN and supports Timor-Leste’s efforts in this regard,” the DFA said.