Lee welcomes East Timor President Horta's visit to S. Korea ahead of summit

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday welcomed East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta's first visit to South Korea, expressing hope for a stronger partnership between the two countries on the occasion of next year's 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Lee wrote the message on his X account, as Horta was scheduled to make an official visit to South Korea from Thursday through Saturday, marking the first trip to South Korea by an East Timorese leader since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2002.

Lee and Horta will hold a summit Friday to explore ways to enhance tangible cooperation in various fields, including diplomacy, security, intellectual property, climate change and human exchanges.

"The Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste have built a longstanding friendship founded on our shared values of peace and democracy," Lee said, referring to the two countries by their official names.

"Our partnership has grown through cooperation in economic and social development, and today, our two countries stand as steadfast partners supporting each other on the international stage," the South Korean president said. "Together with the people of the Republic of Korea, I extend my warmest welcome to President Jose Ramos-Horta on his first official visit."

Lee expressed hope Horta's visit "will open new opportunities to deepen our substantive cooperation across diplomacy, security, the economy and the socio-cultural fields."

"As we look ahead to the 25th anniversary of our diplomatic relations next year, I hope this visit will mark another important milestone in our enduring friendship and pave the way for an even stronger partnership in the years ahead," he added. (Yonhap)