The Government, through the Civil Society Support Office and represented by the Vice Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs, Mariano Assanami Sabino, and the Timorese Episcopal Conference (CET – acronym in Portuguese), represented by the Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dili, Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, SDB, formalised the signing of an annual grant agreement at a ceremony held on February 15^th, 2024, at the Government Palace in Dili. 

This agreement defines the Government’s allocation of a public grant corresponding to fifteen million US dollars for the financial year 2024 to carry out activities in the educational, social and ecclesial governance areas. 

This agreement is signed under the Concordat signed on August 14^th, 2015, between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Holy See, which establishes the legal framework for bilateral relations between the two states, and the Framework Agreement signed on June 16^th, 2017, between the Government and the CET. These agreements provide for an annual contribution, according to the Government’s financial availability, for the Catholic Church’s social, educational, and ecclesial governance activities. The amount and modalities of the grant are regulated annually by specific agreements between the Government and the Timorese Episcopal Conference. 

The agreement now signed stipulates that at least 50% of the grant will be used for educational purposes and at least 25% for social purposes. It is also foreseen that up to 15% of the amount will be used for ecclesial governance purposes, and a maximum of 10% will be spent on managing the grant awarded.