Hillary Clinton on Thursday became the first US secretary of state to visit the tiny East Timor nation, according to dpa. Clinton will meet President Taur Matan Ruak, who this year replaced Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the independence war hero recently elected to a fresh five-year term. After ceremonies in Dili, the capital, Clinton will visit a coffee plantation. Coffee is East Timor's only significant export. East Timor marked 10 years of independence this year. From Dili, Clinton will fly to Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, to meet the hereditary ruler of the oil-rich enclave on Borneo island. She will then have become the first secretary of state to have visited all 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations.
