Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and

Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

 Dili, July 5th, 2016

Government announces National Priorities for 2017

The Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, has announced the Sixth Constitutional Government’s National Priorities for 2017 as “agriculture (combating hunger and malnutrition); health; education; water and sanitation; basic infrastructure and the elections next year.”

 These 2017 National Priorities fit within the broader planning framework of Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 and the Program of the Sixth Constitutional Government 2015-2017. The Prime Minister noted that they were identified through work the Government has been doing on integrating the new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] into all Government planning and budgeting for 2017.

A Government’s SDG Task Force, established after the goals were adopted at the United Nations last year, has been looking at all 17 goals and mapping the ways in which they can be achieved in Timor-Leste. The Task Force is working in close coordination and consultation with all Government agencies, civil society organizations and development partners and are mandated to disseminate information about these pathways to SDG achievement and to work with stakeholders to monitor progress and present results.

The Prime Minister explained that the 2017 National Priorities meant that the Government would be focusing on SDG number 2 (nutrition and food security), number 4 (education) and number 9 (infrastructure), whilst paying attention to other human development goals such as health (SDG number 3), gender equality (SDG number 5) and water and sanitation (SDG number 6). The smooth running of the Presidential elections to be held in the first half of 2017 and Legislative elections to follow in the second half of the year are a practical priority for 2017.

The Prime Minister said the Government of Timor-Leste was “deeply committed to achieving the targets and indicators that feed the Sustainable Development Goals.”