Timor Leste premier is Palace guest Thursday

Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, President of East Timor (Timor-Leste), shown in this 2003 photo, will confer with President Aquino on Thursday, June 6, 2013. Gusmao is here on a five-day state visit. AFP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino will receive on Thursday visiting Timor Leste Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão before going to Burma (Myanmar) on Friday for the World Economic Forum (WEF).

A welcome ceremony at the Malacañang grounds has been laid out for Gusmão, who will proceed to the Palace after laying a wreath at the monument of national hero Jose Rizal at the Luneta.

Gusmão, who arrived Wednesday, will sit down with Aquino to discuss bilateral issues. The two will be signing agreements for which no details have as yet been provided.

The Timor Leste leader, who will be in Manila until Sunday, is here to forge cooperation on education, trade and investment, infrastructure and defense, foreign affairs officials said.

His itinerary includes a lecture at the University of the Philippines College of Law and visit to industrial areas in Subic Bay in Zambales and Clark Field in Pampanga.

Timor Leste is campaigning to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which the Philippines is a founding member.