Singapore to welcome East Timorese workers from next year: Wong

Singapore would be opening selected sectors and occupations to workers from East Timor next year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Friday.“This will create new opportunities for Timorese while strengthening our business and people-to-people links,” Wong said at a joint press conference with East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Dili.The visit, the first by a Singapore prime minister, comes a year after East Timor became a full Asean member.Wong laid out several areas where the two countries could take their cooperation to the “next level”.Foreign ministers Vivian Balakrishnan and Bendito dos Santos Freitas would set up a “regular consultation mechanism” to discuss bilateral, regional and international developments, giving both governments “a platform for closer coordination”, Wong said.Students wait to welcome Singapore’s Prime Minister Laurence Wong along a road in Dili on Thursday. Photo: AFP