Government of Timor-Leste

On Thursday, February 15^th, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation hosted an important dialogue on the strategic partnership between Timor-Leste and the European Union (EU). This meeting marks the first meeting between the parties since the "Samoa Agreement" was signed on November 15^th, 2023, which established the overall legal framework for bilateral relations between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific States for the next twenty years. 

The main objective of this meeting was to strengthen ties between Timor-Leste and the EU; the EU reaffirmed its commitment to continue supporting Timor-Leste in various areas, such as nutrition, health, education, infrastructure, economy, security, digitalisation, climate change, human rights and electoral process. 

During the meeting, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and the EU Representative for the Asia-Pacific Region, Paola Pampaloni, the progress made with the programmes already implemented was assessed, and the priority programmes for the future were outlined. 

Minister Bendito Freitas emphasised the importance of the dialogue as an opportunity to discuss areas of political, social and economic cooperation, underlining the long partnership between Timor-Leste and the EU, from the early days of state-building to the present.

The Deputy Director General of the Asia and Pacific Department of the European External Action Service of the European Union, Paola Pampaloni, said the dialogue aimed to review bilateral cooperation and identify opportunities for the coming years. "The EU is committed to maintaining its support for Timor-Leste in various sectors, including the economy and sustainable development," she said. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Vice Minister of ASEAN Affairs, Milena Rangel, the Vice Minister of Finance, Felícia Claudinanda da Cruz Carvalho, the European Union Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Marc Fiederich, and representatives of the 9th Constitutional Government's line ministries attended the Partnership Dialogue.