Government, municipalities, and partners evaluate food security policies at the CONSSAN-TL Annual Meeting
The Vice Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs, Mariano Assanami Sabino, also President of the National Council for Food and Nutritional Security and Sovereignty of Timor-Leste (CONSSAN-TL – acronym in Portuguese), chaired the opening of the CONSSAN-TL Annual Meeting, held in Dili on February 5th, 2026, under the theme “Strengthening the Food System for Food Sovereignty”. 
In his speech, the Vice Prime Minister acknowledged the efforts of national and international entities, as well as municipal authorities, for their collaborative work in food and nutrition security. However, he emphasised that structural challenges remain, highlighting the country's heavy dependence on food imports and the risks to the future of the food and nutrition system, particularly for children.
“CONSSAN-TL was established in 2013, but we continue to face challenges to date. We therefore call on international and national agencies to work with us in a coordinated manner, synchronise their actions, evaluate, and seek the best solutions to secure the basic food system,” said Mariano Assanami Sabino.
The Vice Prime Minister also noted that CONSSAN-TL's operating model directly involves municipal authorities, who are responsible for leading the Council at the local level, in coordination with the Government and development partners. “To increase basic food production within the scope of CONSSAN-TL, we involve municipal authorities, who lead this organisation in their municipalities, promoting joint work with the central government and development partners to strengthen food production in line with each municipality’s profile,” he said.
During the Annual Meeting, the Vice Prime Minister explained that the meeting provides an opportunity to assess the work carried out throughout 2025, identify initiatives with positive results, reinforce areas with insufficient progress, and analyse actions that have not yet been implemented. “At this Annual Meeting, we evaluated the work already done: those that had good results should continue; those that have not yet reached the desired level should be reinforced; and those that have not yet been considered should be analysed together so that we can implement them in the future,” he concluded.
The annual meeting of CONSSAN-TL aims to document the Council's 2025 performance, strengthen transparency and accountability, and enhance multisectoral coordination in food and nutrition security, thereby supporting decision-making and strategic planning. The initiative falls under Decree-Law No. 9/2024 of February 13th, which defines CONSSAN-TL as the interministerial body responsible for coordinating, implementing, and monitoring public policies in food security and nutrition.
Members of the Government, including the Vice-President of CONSSAN-TL and Minister of State Administration, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Vice Minister of Health, and the Secretary of State for Equality, as well as representatives of municipal authorities, national institutions, and international agencies and partners, attended the ceremony.
The Annual Meeting continues with working sessions to strengthen interministerial coordination, liaise with municipalities, and discuss CONSSAN-TL's Strategic Action Plan for 2026, as part of the Government's commitment to strengthening the national food and nutrition security system.
