Jakarta – Indonesia and East Timor on Tuesday agreed to seek the best way of settling the issue of assets the former had left behind in what used to be its 27th province.

Both sides were optimistic about any dialog and cooperation to settle the assets and opted to put the issue on the agenda of the joint commission, East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said following a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Hasan Wirajuda.

However, during the meeting the two foreign ministers agreed not to discuss the assets elaborately. "We, the East Timor government, will always be open to Indonesia's stand on the assets. In fact, we have also agreed to seek the best way of solving them," Horta said.

The Indonesian assets in East Timor are classified into three groups, namely those owned by state companies, private companies, and individuals.

Earlier in the day, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a joint commission to discuss bilateral issues. Hassan said the joint commission is expected to solve residual problems, including the issue of refugees, assets and land and sea borders.

He further said East Timor had nominated one of its officials to the post of ambassador to Indonesia. "Indonesia itself has not nominated any of its officials to the post of its ambassador to East Timor because it will take a long time to do so," he said.

East Timor was an Indonesian province for 24 years before it separated from the republic and gained full independence from the United Nations last May 20.

On the occasion, the two ministers also discussed the possibility of East Timor joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the two countries' commitment to forge cooperation and hold trilateral dialog involving Indonesia, East Timor and Australia towards the creation of a South West Pacific dialog forum.