Last meeting the Club hosted his Excellency Abel Guterres the Timor Leste Ambassador to Australia.  His Excellency spoke about the deep and long lasting friendship between Australia and Timor Leste, recalling the mutual bonds of friendship that were forged between a group of Australian soldiers and the Timor Leste people during its occupation by the Japanese in World War 2. 

 

His Excellency acknowledges that Timor Leste is a fledgling democracy with all the trials that that entails.  Timor Leste needs neighbours like Australia who show true values of democracy and human rights to help foster the same in Timor Leste.  Timor Leste also needs to have a stable and economically sustainable community to underpin its stable democracy.  Hopefully the finalisation of the maritime borders between Timor Leste and Australia will provide another foundation for this stability.