The fate of the Greater Sunrise gas project in Timor-Leste hangs in the balance after two of the main investors pulled out, selling their equity shares to the government of Timor-Leste. This gives Dili much greater control of the scheme, allowing it to demand that the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant is built on its territory rather than in Australia.

Asia’s newest country stands at the economic crossroads. The development of the Greater Sunrise oil and gas project looks more likely to proceed than at any time for a decade but is still not guaranteed. In the meantime, existing gas fields are being run down, while the government has few long term options to generate more income and could easily be toppled by political infighting.

The new prime minister – and former president – of Timor-Leste, Jose Maria de Vasconcelos ( Taur Matan Ruak), has pledged to promote tourism in order to strengthen the economy.

After more than a decade of dispute, on 6 March the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia finally put pen to paper on an agreement to delimit their common maritime boundary.