Government and the European Union Hold High-Level Dialogue on Public Financial Management and Digital Transition
On September 23rd, 2026, the Government and the European Union held the first High-Level Political Dialogue under the Partnership for Public Finance Management and Digital Transition in Timor-Leste (PADIT-TL) at the Ministry of Finance in Dili to assess the progress of ongoing reforms, analyse key challenges, and set priorities for the coming years.
The Minister of Finance, Santina Cardoso, and the European Union Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Thorsten Bargfrede, co-chaired the dialogue. Representatives of the Government, the European Union, the diplomatic corps, development partners, civil society, and other institutions attended the event.
The discussions focused on public financial management, budget execution and transparency, budget preparation aligned with public policy priorities, and developing more integrated digital systems within Public Administration.
The Minister of Finance noted that the dialogue offered an opportunity to analyse progress, discuss challenges, identify practical solutions, and agree on priority actions for the future. Santina Cardoso also emphasised that political dialogue is central to European Union support, creating space for open and constructive engagement while maintaining focus on reforms and shared goals.
The Ambassador of the European Union stated that “this dialogue provides us with an opportunity to jointly analyse the progress made, the remaining challenges, and the areas on which we should focus our efforts in the coming period.”
The discussion also addressed integrating tax and customs administration systems, public procurement, and human resources management to improve information use and sharing across institutions, simplify procedures, and strengthen the delivery of digital public services.
These reforms accompany the modernisation of tax administration and the development of instruments to improve the Government’s capacity to collect and manage state revenues. The increasing digitisation and interoperability of public systems also support the administrative capacity required to implement ongoing tax reforms.
PADIT-TL has total funding of 12 million euros (approximately US$13.66 million), of which 9 million (approximately US$10.25 million) is allocated to budget support and 3 million (approximately US$3.42 million) to e-governance and digital literacy. The public financial management support programme will run for three years and aims to improve efficiency, transparency, sustainability, and equity across the budget cycle.
In 2025, Timor-Leste received the first disbursement of the fixed component of budget support. Meanwhile, the assessment of the second disbursement, which is expected to cover both fixed and variable components, has been completed. During the dialogue, participants analysed the results achieved in 2025, the targets set for 2026, and the preparation of targets for 2027.
In the field of digital transformation, cooperation also includes the “Dalan ba Dijitál” (Path to Digital) project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme with support from the European Union. It covers areas such as infrastructure, the legislative framework, institutional strengthening, and capacity development. Support is also planned to promote the use of information and communication technologies in justice-related tasks, in partnership with Portugal, Lithuania, and Italy.
