Timor-Leste Presents Its Experience of Implementing the One-Stop-Shop and Digitising Public Services at the United Nations Forum
From June 23rd to 25th, 2026, the Minister of State Administration, Tomás do Rosário Cabral, participated in the United Nations Public Service Forum 2026 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which was held under the theme “Transforming Public Institutions through Innovation, Accountability, Participation, and Inclusion.” 
Timor-Leste’s participation followed an invitation from the Organising Committee, chaired by Georgia’s Minister of Justice, Paata Salia. It reflected international recognition of Timor-Leste’s progress in modernising its public administration, particularly through the One-Stop-Shop model and the expansion of digital public services down to the village level.
The Forum brought together ministers, senior government officials, United Nations representatives, experts, academics, civil society organisations, the private sector, and development partners to discuss measures to strengthen innovation, accountability, participation, and inclusion in the delivery of public services, thereby promoting a more efficient and citizen-centred public administration.
The opening session was presided over by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, and attended by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, and the Georgian Minister of Justice and Chair of the Organising Committee, Paata Salia.
During the first plenary session, dedicated to the topic “Provision of universal public services and promotion of an inclusive public administration through digital inclusion,” Minister Tomás do Rosário Cabral presented Timor-Leste’s experience in implementing the One-Stop-Shop across the 12 municipalities, the Oe-Cússe Special Administrative Region (RAEOA), and the Ataúro Administrative Authority, as well as the process of digitising public services, already implemented in the country’s 472 villages.
On the sidelines of the Forum, the Minister met his Georgian counterpart, Paata Salia, to discuss opportunities for cooperation in digitisation and the modernisation of public services. During the meeting, the Georgian Minister shared his country’s experience of using digital transformation to enhance transparency, strengthen public institutions, and increase citizens’ trust.
Minister Tomás do Rosário Cabral expressed gratitude for the invitation extended to Timor-Leste and conveyed the Government’s interest in deepening cooperation and exchanging experiences with countries that have developed innovative solutions in public administration. The Minister also invited Georgia’s Minister of Justice to visit Timor-Leste to learn about the One-Stop-Shop's operations. The two sides agreed to maintain technical contacts to prepare a future cooperation agreement.
During its visit to Georgia, the Timorese delegation—led by the Minister of State Administration and comprising the Chief of Staff, the Director-General of Local Administrative Simplification and Modernisation, and the Ministry’s Legal Advisor—also held bilateral meetings with government officials from Thailand, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan. These meetings provided an opportunity to exchange experiences on the Forum’s key themes and to identify opportunities for developing future initiatives in public administration and the delivery of services to citizens.
