Today, September 12th, 2023, the Government of Timor-Leste, through the Ministry of Finance, held the Budget Days. This seminar marks the beginning of the process of preparing the General State Budget (GSB) for 2024. The event occurred in the Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão auditorium at the Ministry of Finance in Dili.
This year, under the theme “Continuing to Consolidate and Transform Service Delivery by Improving the Management System and Investment Strategies”, the Budget Days began with opening speeches by the Minister of Finance, Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso, and the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. 
The various event sessions covered topics related to the budget and Government priorities. After the opening speeches, issues such as analysing the macroeconomic situation, the investment performance of the Petroleum Fund, loans, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), donor support, financial sector development and the role of the National Bank of Commerce of Timor-Leste (BNCTL) in the national economy were discussed.
This was followed by a presentation of the priorities and objectives to be achieved in 2024 and during the mandate of the 9th Constitutional Government.
In his opening speech at the Budget Days, the Prime Minister emphasised that “the guiding principles that should shape the Government’s financial decisions” “to make Timor-Leste prosperous and harmonious” are “transparency, accountability, inclusion and sustainability”.
Xanana Gusmão expressed confidence in the Government’s ability to “build a prosperous and sustainable future for all our citizens” and also stressed that the main objective of the 2024 State Budget “is to boost economic growth to prioritise the well-being and development of our people”, “with a focus on economic growth, infrastructure development, education, health, agriculture and resource management”.
The Prime Minister called for “the collaboration and involvement of all stakeholders, including the Government, the private sector, civil society organisations and our citizens” to ensure “the successful implementation of this budget”.
All government members, the President of the Republic and members of the National Parliament, representatives of the various ministerial lines, autonomous agencies, municipal authorities and civil society attended the event.