| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
“ALL initiatives towards the protection of the environment and biodiversity are important to us, and hopefully we will look into becoming part of that too. We need to protect our biodiversity, as a country that came out of a war which destroyed our environment. This initiative serves as a lesson, and we want to learn from it.”
These words were said by Constancio Pinto, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment of Timor-Leste, who is currently in Brunei Darussalam to attend the second Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit 2016, starting from today until August 5.
He told the Bulletin that he was pleased to be at the summit, at the invitation of the Brunei Government.
”I find it very important as a platform to exchange views on environmental issues,” he said. “It’s one of the important areas to all of us and to the region. I am also taking this opportunity to visit some places here, getting to know more about Brunei and see what can be done together with Brunei.”
On Brunei’s role as the host, he said, “I think that the summit is very important, since the environment is an international, as well as a global and regional issue, and Brunei is showing to the rest of the world its concern about the depleting ozone layer.
Constancio Pinto, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment, Timor-Leste. – DEAN KASSIM
“The rainforests are vital for all kinds of life. If there are no trees and water, nothing will survive, including human beings, so it’s very important to protect and preserve the rainforests. Sometimes, we have to decide whether to build a highway, preserve an area of the rainforest, or to protect the biodiversity of a particular area.
“Sometimes you have to make the right decision. We’ve been doing this in Timor-Leste, where development has to move forward. If we don’t build roads, then the economy won’t progress. It means that we have to find ways of continuing with development, while protecting the environment at the same time.”
During the interview, Constancio Pinto raised the possibility of mutual cooperation between Brunei and Timor-Leste.
With Brunei being a small country like Timor-Leste, there are a lot of things we can share in the areas of environment, industry and capacity-building,” he said. “As you know, we have invested in human capital and development, in addition to sending our people for training in other countries. We are thinking of sending our people to train here, and since we speak Bahasa Indonesia, there shouldn’t be any communication problems.”
He also said that his country is looking at mutual cooperation in terms of oil exploration and processing. “There is plenty of oil and gas in Timor-Leste, both onshore and offshore. In terms of quantity, we still have to do more surveying. There is a big reservoir of oil and gas, with the biggest being the Greater Sunrise reservoir which is still under negotiation with Australia.
“Right now, our biggest investment is on infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water sanitation, apart from education and health. We will be building a new seaport in Dili, which is two kilometres away from the airport. A French company won the bid, so the construction will start next year. It will be a transit point for ships sailing to the Pacific, and big enough to hold big ships bound for Australia or New Zealand.
“We are hoping that by 2018 or 2020, all the roads in our country will be fixed and widened, as it is crucial for tourism. Timor-Leste has a big potential for tourism, but we just need to have the infrastructure ready so we can attract investments from foreign companies.”
The post Timor Leste looking into mutual cooperation with Brunei Darussalam appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.