PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen met Timor-Leste’s founding father Xanana Gusmão at the Peace Palace on Saturday, May 6. In an interview later that day, Gusmão said Prime Minister Hun Sen is a friendly man.
At a press event, Xanana Gusmão, the former President and former Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, said of Prime Minister Hun Sen, “Friendly, friendly, very friendly because we know each other from 2000 while he followed my life; I also followed the situation here in Cambodia. Right from 2000 [when] we met in the UN.”
Gusmão also spoke about the possibility of Timor joining the ASEAN community. His country is willing to join but still needs to complete all the requirements. “We talked about our membership to ASEAN, and I told him that, yeah we are willing to do, but we are still with the big problem of having qualified human resources to fully contribute in the meeting,” he said.
Overall he had a very busy schedule while in Cambodia where he met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and other Cambodian delegates in addition to visiting three universities and attending the SEA Games opening ceremony.
Gusmão received three paintings from students attending The Royal University of Fine Arts Phnom Penh. He was highly impressed with their skill level and remarked that artists from his own country could benefit from such an education. “Wow, we also have some painters the problem is only their capability, and after looking at these, I would say that I would send a few of them to come, because I believe this painting, the painter got some [training] to do this.”
Gusmão went on to praise the spectacle of the SEA Games opening ceremony saying, “It was amazing, amazing, WOW. I could not close my mouth, because I was always, wow, wow, wow, it was fantastic, fantastic, very impressive, the way, the way Cambodian people prepared themselves to show the ASEAN countries and to the world: we are here; we are ready.”
EAC News would like to thank Timor-Leste’s Ambassador to Cambodia, Kupa Lopes, for the opportunity to interview His Excellency Xanana Gusmão. It is important to have these kinds of conversations so that we can learn more about different cultures and perspectives.
