The Secretary of State for Cooperatives, Arsenio Pereira da Silva, on behalf of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of Tourism and Environment, Francisco Kalbuady Lay, attended the High-Level Ministerial Session of the Sixth ASEAN Inclusive Business Summit, taking place in Bali, Indonesia, from August 23rd to 25th 2023.
The event, organised by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was attended by all ASEAN Member States. 
The event focuses on three main activities: a High-Level Ministerial Meeting to oversee SME development, economy and investment, multistakeholder dialogues to promote inclusive business practices, SME business matching and financing, and an inclusive business showcase and tour in Bali, Indonesia.
In his speech, the Secretary of State for Cooperatives declared Timor-Leste’s commitment to “supporting ASEAN’s inclusive business initiative”, emphasising the need for “Timor-Leste to begin the initial process of aligning and developing a policy instrument that will help and ensure that inclusive business can be supported at the national level and that its integration at the regional level is promoted”.