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Press Release
Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 4th, 2025
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and began the meeting with the approval of a Government Resolution presented by the Minister of Finance, Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso, regarding the additional subscription of quotas allocated to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, under the terms of Resolutions Nos. 663 and 664 of the Board of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, of the World Bank Group.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is a global development cooperative whose goal is to overcome poverty and improve living standards. It works with its borrowing members to help them achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global problems in economic development and environmental sustainability.
These objectives can be achieved mainly through financing, risk management products and other financial services, access to experts and a range of knowledge in development-related disciplines, so that borrowing members can gather, manage and prioritize resources, the main objective of which is related to development.
In view of the World Bank Group’s announcement regarding subscriptions to the IBRD’s capital in 2018, with a deadline of October 1, 2025, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste has opted to subscribe to the following:
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The Council of Ministers approved a Draft Resolution of the National Parliament, presented by the Deputy Minister for ASEAN Affairs, Milena Maria da Costa Rangel, which ratifies the accession of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The ASEAN Charter, adopted in Singapore on November 20, 2007, represents the common values and aspirations of the peoples of Southeast Asia in favor of peace, stability, economic progress, and the protection of fundamental rights.
Formal accession to the ASEAN Charter will enable Timor-Leste to fully exercise its rights and assume its responsibilities as a member of the organization, ensuring its active participation in regional bodies and contributing to the deepening of cooperation and integration in Southeast Asia.
Approval and ratification of the ASEAN Charter is a condition for membership in ASEAN.
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The Council of Ministers also approved a Draft Resolution of the National Parliament, presented by the Deputy Minister for ASEAN Affairs, Milena Maria da Costa Rangel, which ratifies the Declaration on the Admission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
This Declaration is an essential step towards the full integration of Timor-Leste into ASEAN, pursuant to Article 6(4) of the ASEAN Charter, whose signing on the admission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, to take place in Malaysia on October 26, 2025, represents the political acceptance by ASEAN Member States of the inclusion of Timor-Leste as a future Member State of the organization.
It should be emphasized that accession to ASEAN is a national priority and reflects the sovereign will of the Timorese people to actively participate in promoting peace, stability, sustainable development, and shared prosperity in the region.
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Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved also a draft resolution presented by the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, Gastão Francisco de Sousa, regarding the future direct contracting of PT Meridian Kreatama Mandiri, in partnership with KIAT, Lda., in the context of the need to revise the 2011-2030 Strategic Development Plan.
The 9th Constitutional Government intends to carry out an evaluation and review of the 2011-2030 Strategic Development Plan and promote the implementation of a new Strategic Development Plan for the years 2026-2035.
Given the complexity of revising the Strategic Development Plan and preparing new contributions for a 10-year goal, it is justified to hire the same experts who prepared the current strategic plan, thus ensuring continuity of the process and greater speed and efficiency in its revision.
PT Meridian Kreatama Mandiri and KIAT, Lda. are based in Southeast Asia and have extensive experience in this sector, making them the only companies capable of carrying out this project, which has an estimated value of US$784,368.
Finally, the Council of Ministers receveid two presentations from the Minister of Finance, Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso and the technical team regarding:
It was also presented the timeline of the Political Revision Committee scheduled for 5 to 23 August, 2025. END