Today, September 3rd, 2026, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Dili, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and Environment, opened the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), aimed at defining the group’s policy priorities and common position for the negotiations at the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).
The ministerial meeting is part of the LDC Group’s strategic meeting, which is taking place in Dili from September 1st to 4th, 2026. It brings together representatives from the 44 countries that make up the group, including ministers, negotiators, and experts, as well as representatives from international organisations and development partners.
Timor-Leste holds the Chairmanship of the LDC Group, represented by the Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, Ambassador Adão Soares Barbosa, and is hosting this meeting to coordinate the group’s positions ahead of COP31, which is scheduled for November in Antalya, Turkey.
At the opening of the ministerial segment, Vice Prime Minister Francisco Kalbuadi Lay emphasised that, despite their limited contribution to the global climate crisis, LDCs are among the most vulnerable countries to its impacts.
He noted that Timor-Leste also faces the effects of climate change, including coastal erosion, pressure on agriculture and food security, extreme weather events, and heightened disaster risks, with severe consequences for communities, the economy, and national development.
The Vice Prime Minister argued that climate finance for least developed countries should be adequate, predictable, and accessible, and should strengthen national institutions and capacities. He also emphasised the need to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology and to ensure greater transparency in the use of resources.
The ministerial meeting follows two days of technical and strategic sessions, during which the LDCs’ key priorities for COP31 were discussed, including climate finance, adaptation, mitigation, a just transition, and loss and damage.
Participants also discussed implementing National Adaptation Plans, technology and technology transfer, transparency, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, agriculture, capacity building, and the relationship between gender and climate change, as well as issues related to trade, health, oceans, mountains, and migration.
At the start of the technical sessions, the Chair of the LDC Group, Ambassador Adão Soares Barbosa, called for the establishment of a “clear and unified” negotiating position for COP31 and for the identification of issues requiring political guidance at the ministerial level.
According to the Ambassador, the Least Developed Countries have contributed least to the global climate crisis but face greater difficulty in accessing the resources needed to address its impacts. In this context, the group intends to strengthen its position on increasing the volume and quality of climate finance, simplifying access to funds, ensuring the predictability of resources, and providing technical and institutional support to the most vulnerable countries.
The LDC Group also aims to accelerate the implementation of National Adaptation Plans, promote mitigation measures consistent with the goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and ensure adequate, predictable, and accessible resources to address climate change-related loss and damage.
The meeting also features participation by international partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, which presented perspectives on climate finance, institutional capacity, and the translation of national strategies into concrete programmes and projects.
The results of the technical discussions will be reviewed at ministerial level to consolidate the LDCs’ key messages and policy priorities and to adopt a ministerial declaration that will guide the group’s participation in international climate negotiations and at COP31.