Ramos Horta and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer signed the treaty on certain maritime arrangements (CMATS) in the Timor Sea in January but it was not ratified by East Timor’s parliament.

The endorsement of the Greater Sunrise international utilisation agreement, signed in 2003, has also been delayed because of civil unrest in the country.

The CMATS would see East Timor’s share of revenue from Greater Sunrise, which spans the area between the young country and Darwin, be as high as $US14 billion ($A19 billion) because revenue will be split evenly with Australia. This compares to the 80:20 ratio initially proposed.

The Australian newspaper today reported that Ramos Horta, who is set to meet with Prime John Howard in Canberra this morning, remains dedicated to the commercial development of Greater Sunrise being headquartered in East Timor.

But he is expected to tell Howard that the final commercial decision rests with operator Woodside Petroleum and co-owners Osaka Gas, ConocoPhillips and Shell.

“We have to be realistic to wonder whether there are not legitimate concerns on the part of Woodside, ConocoPhillips, about sovereign risks,” Ramos Horta said on ABC TV’s Lateline program last night.

“If I were an investor from Australia or the US and I have to decide to put an investment in Darwin, which is rock-solid stable and in my country, East Timor, well what would be the choice?

“So we are the ones who have to be smart and find maybe some other incentive to lure the investment into our country, in spite of the sovereign risks, rather than start blaming outside entities.”