Dili – Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer arrived in East Timor on Thursday for a one-day visit on the anniversary of the tiny neighbouring nation's 1999 independence vote.

Australia's perceived support for the East Timorese referendum, which saw the majority of people vote to break away from ruling Indonesia, damaged Canberra's relations with Jakarta, a rift that took years to repair.

Downer is the first Australian minister to visit East Timor since the new government of Xanana Gusmao was sworn in earlier this month, and it follows a visit by Prime Minister John Howard in July.

Downer will meet President Jose Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Gusmao, and other officials, as well as members of the Australian-led International Security Force.

Australian peacekeepers were despatched here in May last year after ongoing street violence in the capital Dili involving rival factions of the security forces as well as youth gangs left at least 37 people dead.

On arrival, Downer inked two deals with his East Timorese counterpart Zacarias Albano, one covering land exchanges for embassies and another on a rural water supply and sanitation project worth 20 million dollars.

"We are profiting from the visit of minister Downer here to once again show the close collaboration and cooperation between Australia and Timor Leste, which also needs to be further strengthened in the coming years," Albano said.

The anniversary of the 1999 referendum is a public holiday in East Timor. Violence surrounding the vote, blamed on militias backed by Indonesia's military, saw some 1,400 people killed.

After the vote, East Timor was put under UN administration before it finally achieved independence in May 2002.