East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta has asked Australia to be part of the "miracle" in unlocking economic opportunities for his nation, and for the Albanese government to progress a major gas project.
In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Dr Ramos-Horta called on the government to help bring a gas pipeline from the Greater Sunrise project to his country.
"We have a neighbour, Australia, that can make this miracle happen," he said on Wednesday.
"This way it contributes to a very dynamic Timor-Leste economy ... you will see Timor-Leste as another Dubai or another Singapore."
He said it made "no sense" to pipe the gas down to Darwin, rather than to a processing hub in his country.
When asked about his government seeking Chinese investment for the project, Dr Ramos-Horta said Beijing was not the only power in the region, pointing to Indonesia.
"We're not talking about maritime security, it's just a pipeline," he said.
"I don't think China intends to invade anyone."
He also gave assurances East Timor was stable, with "no need to fear" a sovereign risk if the pipeline were to go to his country.
When asked how to justify the development of a gas project given the threat of climate change, Dr Ramos-Horta said he didn't want to be "lectured" by rich developed countries who had "polluted" the world.
Earlier, Australia and East Timor signed a new defence agreement amid rising competition in the Indo-Pacific region.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Timorese counterpart inked the Defence Cooperation Agreement in Canberra.
The agreement sets out a framework for the activities of both nations' militaries in each other's countries, and aims to increase the countries' armed forces working together including on exercising, training and humanitarian assistance.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the two leaders discussed security, economic cooperation, labour mobility and skills and East Timor's ASEAN membership bid.
Mr Marles said the agreement "heralds a new chapter" and he looked forward to joint maritime patrols between the two countries.
Dr Ramos-Horta met with Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Parliament House earlier on Wednesday.
Senator Wong was in East Timor's capital Dili last week to discuss diversifying the economy, including resolving a dispute over the location of a gas processing hub.
The Greater Sunrise gas field is located in the Timor Sea, off the northwest coast of Australia.
East Timor is entitled to at least 70 per cent of the royalties from the field, estimated to have more than $70 billion in resource value.
It controls almost 57 per cent of the field. Australian energy company Woodside controls 33 per cent and Japan's Osaka Gas 10 per cent.
Woodside's preferred option is the already established hub in Darwin, but Timor wants the gas piped to a new site on its southern coast.
The company said in its recent half-year report the joint venture participants "continue to engage" the Australian and East Timor governments on the Greater Sunrise production sharing contract, with talks scheduled for the second half of this year.
