available soon
available soon
available soon
The Minister of Transport and Communications, Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu, participated in the Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) 2026 and the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity in Singapore from October 12th to 15th, 2026. During these events, he discussed strengthening regional cybersecurity cooperation and held a bilateral meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo.
The 11th edition of the Singapore International Cyber Week, organised by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, brought together ministers, government officials, representatives of international organisations, experts, and private-sector representatives to discuss current and emerging cybersecurity challenges and to strengthen international cooperation in this area.
This year’s edition addressed, among other topics, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, the protection of critical infrastructure, cyber incident response, the development of specialised human resources, and international cooperation to strengthen digital resilience.
As part of the SICW, Minister Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu participated in the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity on October 14th, which brought together representatives of ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat to examine regional cybersecurity challenges and strengthen cooperation and capacity to respond to cyber threats.
The Conference welcomed the ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy 2026–2030 and addressed issues such as the protection of critical infrastructure, combating ransomware and online scams, risks associated with artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, information sharing, and the strengthening of national and regional incident response capabilities.
In this context, Singapore announced an additional SG$30 million investment over the next five years to strengthen regional capabilities through the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence. The support covers areas including cyber incident response, critical infrastructure protection, artificial intelligence-related risks, and cyber diplomacy. Since its establishment in 2019, the Centre’s programmes have reached more than 2,200 participants from ASEAN, Pacific Island countries, and other regions.
On the sidelines of the meetings, Minister Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu met with Minister Josephine Teo in a bilateral meeting on October 13th. The meeting focused on cooperation between Timor-Leste and Singapore in digital transformation and cybersecurity, including human resource capacity development.
During the meeting, Josephine Teo expressed Singapore’s willingness to continue sharing its experience in digital transformation and to support capacity building for Timorese technical personnel, particularly in digitalisation and cybersecurity.
Minister Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu highlighted Singapore’s experience in these areas and noted that Timor-Leste could benefit from Singapore’s knowledge and solutions, adapted to national realities, existing capacities, and available resources.
The Singapore International Cyber Week 2026 also served as a platform for launching Singapore’s Cybersecurity Strategy 2026, which sets out measures to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure and the digital ecosystem, prepare responses to risks associated with artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, and develop specialised human resources.
On October 13th, 2026, in Lisbon, the Minister of State Administration, Tomás do Rosário Cabral, met with Manuel Dias, President of the Board of Directors of the Agency for State Technological Reform (ARTE – acronym in Portuguese), to define priorities and next steps for cooperation between Timor-Leste and Portugal on administrative streamlining and modernisation.
The meeting followed up on the cooperation protocol signed in Lisbon on June 29th, 2026, by the Minister of State Administration and Portugal’s Minister Adjunct and for State Reform, Gonçalo Matias. The agreement covers the modernisation of public services, digital transformation, and improvements to the efficiency and accessibility of services provided to citizens.
During the meeting, both parties reviewed priority activities to be carried out by the Directorate-General for the Simplification and Modernisation of Local Administration of the Ministry of State Administration and by ARTE, together with the corresponding implementation schedule.
Cooperation in this area supports the implementation of One-Stop Service Centres in Timor-Leste. Since May 2024, the Government has established 14 One-Stop Service Centres across the country, which have handled 81,368 service requests up to August 2026. These centres bring together various public services at a single point of service, reducing travel, costs, and the time required to access services.
The next phase of this process provides for the progressive integration of new public services into the One-Stop Service Centres and for the development of the service channels outlined in the model, including digital services, telephone support, and Mobile One-Stop Service Centres.
In this context, the Timorese delegation has scheduled a visit to a Citizen Shop (Loja do Cidadão) in Portugal to learn from Portugal’s experience in consolidating and integrating public services, operating service spaces, and ensuring interoperability across entities and systems. This experience will contribute to developing the One-Stop Service Centre network and to preparing the future Centre for Administrative Modernisation under the Ministry of State Administration.
During the meeting, it was also agreed that a technical team from ARTE would travel to Timor-Leste in the fourth quarter of 2026 to monitor the work carried out by the Ministry of State Administration and to continue preparations for the actions set out in the cooperation protocol.
Representatives of the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Portugal and technical teams from the Ministry of State Administration and ARTE also attended the meeting.
Both institutions will maintain technical coordination to implement the activities set out in the cooperation protocol.
On October 13th, 2026, at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Dili, the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, convened and presided over an inter-institutional coordination meeting to prepare for the visits of five international leaders scheduled for November and for the celebrations marking the 51st anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence on November 28th.
Members of the Government, representatives of government agencies, and officials from institutions involved in organising the commemorations and official visits, including representatives from foreign affairs, defence, interior, state administration, finance, and petroleum and mineral resources, as well as the defence and security forces, the Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BCTL), and other national entities, attended the meeting.
In November, Timor-Leste will welcome Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is scheduled to arrive on November 24th, alongside the Prime Ministers of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka; Papua New Guinea, James Marape; Vanuatu, Jotham Napat; and the Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale. The five leaders are expected to participate in the celebrations marking the Proclamation of Independence on November 28th.
The meeting coordinated institutional, logistical, protocol, and security preparations for the visits and commemorations. The national organising committee received guidance to accelerate efforts across the institutions involved.
Pacific leaders’ participation in the November 28th commemorations supports efforts to strengthen Timor-Leste’s relations with regional countries, highlighting bonds of friendship and solidarity and recalling their contributions to peace and stability in Timor-Leste, including through participation in international missions in the country.
Topics scheduled for discussion during the visits include sustainable development and ocean conservation within bilateral relations with Monaco. The management of Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Fund is also expected to feature on the agenda for meetings with Pacific leaders.
The institutions involved will continue to coordinate preparations for these international visits and for the celebrations marking the 51st anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence.
available soon
available soon
available soon
available soon