Australia and The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste are near neighbors with close political and trade ties. East Timor, is the youngest and one of the poorest countries in Asia, lies about 610 kilometres northwest of the Australian city of Darwin and Australia has played a prominent role in the young republic's history. Australia has been the leading of international support for Timor-Leste during its first 10 years of independence, not only as the largest bilateral donor of development assistance, but also by providing a leadership role to ensure security and stability in the country. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93East_Timor_relations)