Government of Timor-Leste

On December 16^th and 17^th, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 11th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (COSP11), which is taking place from December 15^th to 19^th in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of strengthening international cooperation in the fight against corruption and transnational crime. 

On December 16^th, the Minister met with a delegation from the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to discuss cooperation between Timor-Leste and this international organisation. During the meeting, INTERPOL expressed its willingness to support Timor-Leste in human resources training to strengthen national capabilities in the fight against corruption, organised crime, and transnational crime, including through ASEAN regional mechanisms and the use of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in criminal investigation. 

On December 17^th, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation met with the Australian delegation to discuss the future establishment of a bilateral cooperation partnership to combat corruption, transnational crime, and organised crime. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on identifying human resource capacity-building needs, particularly for investigators, and to share experiences and good practices, including in cooperation with ASEAN member states. 

Also on December 17^th, the Minister met with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) team to discuss mechanisms to combat illicit gambling, money laundering, drug-related crime, and the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, both regionally and in Timor-Leste. The parties explored possibilities for cooperation in technical training and institutional capacity building, including the use of forensic equipment to investigate and detect cross-border crime. During the meeting, UNODC invited the Government of Timor-Leste to participate in an international conference on combating illegal gambling and smuggling, to be held in Vienna in 2026.

Rui Pereira dos Santos, Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission; Vicente Fernandes Brito, National Director of the Scientific Criminal Investigation Police; Virginia Ana Belo, Member of Parliament; and Angelina Saldanha, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, participated in the meetings.