The Friendship Agreement Principles

The Friendship Agreement principles encourage friendships and interactions as a means of building 'good neighbourhood, peaceful coexistence, and future economic and business trade between Timor Leste and Australia'(VLGA 2004). The Friendship Agreement Procedures for starting a group are as follows:

Step 1. There needs to be sufficient enthusiasm and support by members of the local community. It is not enough to have one person interested; there need to be a good groundswell of support for building the relationship. The first step then is for the people interested in developing the relationship to get together to discuss:

why they wish to pursue a Friendship Agreement
what will be their aims and objectives;
what are their strengths as a community;
which particular aspects of the relationship will they focus on - resource provision, cultural exchanges, etc.
What can they realistically offer the Timorese and what do they expect to obtain from the relationship?
What are the group's motives. The group will need to be very clear about this.
How will the group garner support in their wider community?
How will they fundraise?
Are there Timorese in their local community who can offer advice and language support?
What does the group know about Timor?
What sort of district/sub district would the group be best placed to link with?

Once these motives and strategies have been fully discussed the group can then move to step two:

Step 2: The group then asks the Consul-General in Sydney for guidance to suggest a Sub-District for its Friendship Relationship. It is important to be clear about what kind of district /sub district best suits your group. Do you want to link with an agricultural community? Are you more interested in linking with a very isolated area or would a bigger town better suit your group?

Step 3: If the group wishes to get Local Government support for the Friendship Agreement, it is a good idea to lobby the Mayor and local Councillors and garner their interest. If they agree with the idea, then it is discussed at a Council meeting, before being voted on in a formal resolution. The Council may like to survey the ratepayers and gauge their feeling about the concept of Friendship Relationships. The more support one gets from the ratepayers, the better it is for the relationship.

Step 4: Once the Council has passed the resolution, the Mayor will issue a formal letter expressing the good will and interest for a Friendship relationship to the respective Administrator of the allocated Sub-District. OR if the group is operating independently of their LGA, the group can make contact with the District or Sub-district administration themselves. This contact can be mediated though the Consul General in Sydney or can be mediated through Timorese in the local community. It is important to invite the Timorese to be equal participants in this process so it would be polite to ask them if they would be interested in forming a relationship with your group. The letter could contain some basic information about your group, your district, your motives, your resources etc. You will also need to be very clear about how your group will communicate. Ask the Timorese to reply to the letter and suggest that if they are interested, you would like to set up a visit. It is important at this time to observe local protocol and also contact the Friendship Liaison Officer in Dili (who can put you in touch with the relevant Government Minister).

Step 5: Once the Sub-District Administrator has received the letter, he or she will call a meeting of all the local chiefs and relevant authorities for a response, usually issuing a reciprocal letter of acceptance and inviting the Mayor or members of the group to visit the Sub-District.

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