Hillary Clinton in East Timor, hoping to lend stability to Asia's poorest country (+video)
Hillary Clinton visited East Timor Thursday. It was the first visit by a US secretary of state to East Timor since it gained its independence from Indonesia in 2002.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (c.) is greeted by East Timor's Presidential Chief of Staff Fidelis Magalhaes (r.) at the Presidential Palace in Dili September 6. Clinton arrived in Dili, capital of Asia's newest nation of East Timor on Thursday, hoping to bolster the fledgling government that is trying to bring the impoverished country closer in step with its booming neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Jim Watson/Reuters
Dili
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Asia's newest nation of East Timor on Thursday, hoping to bolster the fledgling government that is trying to bring the impoverished country closer in step with its booming neighbors in Southeast Asia.
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Clinton arrived in the capital Dili after a day of talks in China and was due to meet President Taur Matan Ruak and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao during a brief visit before heading on to Brunei.
US officials said the visit by Clinton - the first US secretary of state to travel to East Timor since it won independence from Indonesia in 2002 - was an effort to buttress both stability and growth in one of Asia's poorest countries.
"Timor is still plagued with substantial violence ... they have a long way to go," one senior US officials told reporters on Clinton's plane.
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