The Government, represented by several members, is participating in the Budget Panorama Seminar for fiscal year 2025, organised by Committee C of the National Parliament, responsible for Public Finance Affairs. The seminar, which will take place on October 16^th and 17^th, 2024, at the Alma do Mar Resort in the municipality of Liquiçá, aims to promote transparency and dialogue between the various national and international players involved in the budget process. 

During the two-day seminar, Government members presented the main guidelines of the proposed General State Budget ((GSB) for 2025, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to the National Parliament at the beginning of October. Together with members of the National Parliament and officials from the Court of Appeal, the Central Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the NGO La’o Hamutuk, they discussed key issues relating to the fiscal outlook, macroeconomic development and strategic challenges for the fiscal year 2025. 

The President of the National Parliament in office, Deputy Maria Terezinha da Silva Viegas, and the President of Commission C, Deputy Cedelizia Faria dos Santos, spoke at the opening session, highlighting that the main objectives of the seminar were to promote transparency through dialogue, share information on the macro-economy, analysing the 9th Government’s annual action plan and the National Development Plan, understanding the impact of global factors on Timor-Leste’s development, discussing investment plans and the country’s natural resources, as well as sharing the Court of Appeal’s legal analysis and the point of view of the NGO La’o Hamutuk. 

 The 2025 State Budget Law Proposal, totalling US$2.6 billion, reflects the strategic priorities of the 9th Constitutional Government, with emphasis on investment in strategic infrastructures, strengthening the national economy and improving the living conditions of the population. During the seminar, various components of the GSB were analysed, with particular emphasis on the impact of public policies in the health, education, social security, infrastructure and sustainable economic development sectors. 

This event precedes the public hearings scheduled for October 21^st to 25^th, where members of the Government, the Presidency of the Republic and leaders of the Public Administration will be invited to discuss and clarify the budget allocations for their respective sectors. The debate in general terms in the National Parliament will begin on November 6th, according to the previously defined timetable, aiming for the final vote on the 2025 General State Budget at the end of November.