Jakarta – Journalists from Indonesia and Timor Leste are expected to help forge partnership between the former foes, according to a bilateral dialogue.

Speakers at the Dialogue Forum for Indonesia and Timor Leste Journalists held in Dili on Wednesday encouraged journalists to partake in improving the relationship between the two countries in a number of fields.

Timor Leste State Secretary for Social Communication Affairs Nelyo Isaac Sarmento said that there should be a transfer of knowledge through internship programs for reporters between Indonesia and Timor Leste. He made the remarks during Wednesday's forum, which was opened by Indonesian Ambassador to Timor Leste Primanto Hendrasmoro.

"We think we should provide training for reporters in order for them to be able to disseminate quality information. Human resources in the social communication field in Timor Leste should be improved," Nelyo said as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.

During the dialogue, a senior editor at the Antara news agency, Rahmad Nasution, encouraged journalists from the two countries to prioritize the peace journalism concept, especially when it concerned the relationship between the two countries.

"Reporters should be a bridge, not a barrier between Indonesia and Timor Leste," Rahmad said.

One of the speakers in Wednesday's forum, Teguh Imawan, an expert at the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, told Timor Leste journalists attending the event that competition among media outlets was unavoidable, thus, it was very important for all journalists to comply with the code of conducts.

"The media should not become 'spokesmen' for their owners and political parties," the media consultant said. (hrl)