Government of Timor-Leste approves creation of Oecussi Special Administrative Region

Oecusse Map. Image: Wikimedia.org

ETLJB 23/06/2014 (From Macauhub 02 May 2014) - The government of Timor-Leste (East Timor) has approved a proposed law to set up the Oecussi Special administrative Region, where the project for the Social Market Economy Special Zone, the government announced recently.

In the proposed law, which was approved by a council of Ministers meeting, the government notes that creating the region will allow Oecussi – an enclave on the Indonesia side of  Timor Island – to have “administrative, financial and asset management, autonomy.”

The proposed law includes the island of Atauro, off the coast of Dili, as a complementary hub of the Oecussi Special Administrative Region, for the tourism sector.

The Social Market Economy Special Zone, a project that is headed up by a former Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Mari Alkatiri, is focused on integrated regional development through creation of strategic national areas that are “attractive for national and foreign investors.”

“The aim is to remove the status of enclave from Oecussi and give it the status of national, sub-regional and regional development hub, and Ataúro as part of this hub, will be focused on integrated tourism,” the government said. Source: (macauhub/TL)