THE Philippines became the first member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to sign a bilateral market access agreement with Timor-Leste as part of the latter's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that Timor-Leste's Working Party was established on Dec. 7, 2016, which kickstarted its WTO accession process.
There are 40 members in the Working Party, seven of which are Asean members, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Philippines joined the Working Party on Timor-Leste's accession on July 27, 2021, the DFA said on Twitter on Monday.
Manila registered its interest to engage in bilateral market access negotiations given its historical relations and potential improvements in its bilateral trade and investment relations with Dili, it added.
During the signing ceremony, Philippine Mission to the WTO Chargé d'Affaires Gabriel Bautista said that both countries are closely aligned in terms of culture and values.
'The Philippines remains ready to support Timor Leste in strengthening and diversifying its economy — there is strong potential for collaboration across a broad range of sectors from energy, agriculture, construction, education to retail services,' Bautista said. 'As our political commitment endures, we now must redouble efforts to enhance private sector engagement.'
Timor-Leste has also applied for membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
During the 40th and 41st Asean Summits and Related Summits held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 11, 2022, the Asean member-states 'in principle agreed to admit' Timor-Leste to be the 11th member of Asean.
In the WTO accession process, a Working Party is established to examine the application in accordance with Article 12 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and to submit recommendation to the WTO's General Council or Ministerial Conference.
Following the establishment of a Working Party, the bilateral, 'plurilateral and multilateral negotiations subsequently take place simultaneously,' the DFA said.
Negotiations on tariff concessions and services are conducted bilaterally on the basis of offers and requests between the acceding government and the interested member, it added.
Among the 24 ongoing accessions in the WTO, Timor-Leste is considered to have one of the fastest-advancing processes.