Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 19 May – Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor Wednesday in Sao Tome signed a cooperation agreement in the areas of oil and gas, the Sao Tome Natural Resources minister, Carlos Vila Nova said.

The agreement was signed at the Natural Resources ministry in Sao Tome by the minister himself and by the East Timorese secretary of state for Natural Resources, Alfredo Pires.

The memorandum of understanding, which is valid for three years, “establishes cooperation in the areas of natural resources, namely, oil and gas,” and mainly outlines training of Sao Tome oil industry staff.

As well as technical and institutional assistance for the Ministry for Public Works and Natural Resources and the Sao Tome and Principe National Oil agency, the agreement also outlines the exchange of technical staff between the oil agencies of both countries.

The document that established cooperation between the National Commissions for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) also outlines creation of, “a working commission to supervise the execution of activities outlined in the memorandum.”

Speaking to Macauhub in Sao Tome, Vila Nova said that, “the common aspects of the two countries will make the execution of the agreement easier,” between Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor, both of which are members of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP). (macauhub)