The Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Rural Development and Community Housing, Mariano Assanami Sabino, paid an official visit to Brunei Darussalam on May 23rd and 24th, 2025, to strengthen bilateral relations and share experiences in the development of the social sector. 
During the visit, the Vice Prime Minister met with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, with whom he discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. At the meeting, he expressed his gratitude to the royal family of Brunei for their support of Timor-Leste’s full membership in ASEAN, as well as for their willingness to contribute to the development of the Timorese social sector, particularly in education and health. 
As part of the collaboration in the health sector, the Vice Prime Minister visited the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha National Hospital, accompanied by Vidal de Jesus Lopez, the Director of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Support Services at the Guido Valadares National Hospital, and Abel Guterres, the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Brunei. The purpose of the visit was to observe the operations of this leading hospital and discuss potential cooperation, particularly in human resources training and the technical enhancement of the Timorese health system. In this context, the Vice Prime Minister announced that, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, a technical team would soon be dispatched to Brunei to identify specific avenues for collaboration in this field. 
In community development, Mariano Assanami Sabino met with Brunei’s Minister of Development, Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda Bin Haji Abdul Rashid, with whom he exchanged experiences regarding community housing policies implemented in both countries. The programme also included a visit, along with technicians from Brunei’s Housing Development Department to an ongoing housing project in the Muara Tanah Jambu area. 
This visit forms part of a growing cycle of institutional and diplomatic exchanges between Timor-Leste and Brunei, which have intensified since the inauguration of the 9th Constitutional Government. The strengthening of bilateral relations has been driven by several high-level visits, such as that of the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, and Vice Prime Minister Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, in October 2023; the State visit to Timor-Leste by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in May 2024; and the visit of the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, to Brunei in October 2024, aimed at reinforcing cooperation in the areas of energy, economy, education, and labour mobility. During his visit, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay signed a bilateral labour mobility agreement with the Government of Brunei, which provides for the sending of Timorese workers to that country. 
Brunei serves as a strategic partner for Timor-Leste, particularly regarding the latter’s accession to ASEAN. At the 46th ASEAN Summit held in May this year, Brunei endorsed the Chair’s Statement, which confirmed the collective decision of the leaders of the regional organisation to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th Member State at the summit scheduled for October 2025. 
