East Timor signs aid deal with EU

The European Union signed a €18m aid deal with East Timor’s beleaguered government today, pledging to support democracy and economic development in the newly independent nation which has been torn by violence in recent weeks.

In a statement from EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the agreement showed the “full support and solidarity” of the EU with East Timor.

Prime minister Mari Alkatiri witnessed the signing ceremony. The money will be used over the next two years, with two-thirds allocated to rural development projects and the remainder used to bolster the country’s fragile state institutions.

In the longer term, the EU has already earmarked €63m in aid for East Timor for 2008-13 as part of a wider agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific nations.

East Timor has been engulfed by violence after 600 striking soldiers were dismissed in March.