Government of Timor-Leste

The Public Finance Committee (Committee C) of the National Parliament will hold the “2027 Budget Outlook” seminar tomorrow, October 14^th, 2026, at the Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão Auditorium, Ministry of Finance, in Dili. The seminar forms part of the review process for the Draft Law on the 2027 General State Budget (GSB) and will feature participation by members of the Government, Members of Parliament, representatives of financial oversight and control bodies, financial institutions, civil society, development partners, and international organisations.

The seminar aims to promote analysis and debate on the State’s economic and financial situation and the outlook for 2027, bringing together contributions on key economic and budgetary trends, public finance challenges, and the preparation and execution of the GSB.

The opening session will begin at 9:15 a.m., with interventions from the Chair of Committee C, Cedelizia Faria dos Santos, and the President of the National Parliament, Maria Fernanda Lay.

Government participation will begin at 10:00 a.m. with an address by Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, the Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and Environment. This will be followed by statements from Santina José Rodrigues Viegas Cardoso, the Minister of Finance, and Gastão Francisco de Sousa, the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, accompanied by representatives from the Infrastructure Fund Administration Council (CAFI – acronym in Portuguese) and the National Development Agency (ADN - acronym in Portuguese).

During the afternoon, participants will include the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Francisco da Costa Monteiro, accompanied by representatives of the National Petroleum Authority (ANP – acronym in Portuguese), the National Minerals Authority (ANM – acronym in Portuguese), TIMOR GAP, and the Institute of Geosciences of Timor-Leste (IGTL – acronym in Portuguese), as well as the Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Verónica das Dores, accompanied by representatives of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS – acronym in Portuguese) and the Social Security Reserve Fund (FRSS – acronym in Portuguese).

The programme also includes interventions by the Governor of the Central Bank of Timor-Leste, Hélder Lopes; the President of the Court of Appeal, Afonso Carmona, accompanied by the Chamber of Accounts; the President of the Authority of the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cússe Ambeno; and representatives from the World Bank and the organisation Lao Hamutuk.

Among the scheduled topics are the macroeconomic outlook for 2027, the evolution of public revenues, the structure and priorities of public expenditure, deficit financing and public debt, the sustainability of public finances, petroleum revenues and the Petroleum Fund, budget execution and the quality of public expenditure, and major fiscal risks for the 2027–2030 period.

The seminar will also address the financial execution and sustainability of the Social Security system, as well as investment management, financial risks, and the sustainability of the Social Security Reserve Fund. The programme includes question-and-answer sessions and participant discussions.

Committee C expects that the contributions presented at the seminar will support the review of the Draft Law on the 2027 GSB and help identify challenges and risks for consideration during the parliamentary appraisal process.

The seminar forms part of the timetable for considering the GSB law proposal for 2027, which the Government submitted to the National Parliament on October 1^st. The law proposal was referred to the standing specialist committees and to Committee C on October 5^th. Hearings before the standing specialist committees will take place between October 13^th and 23^rd, with the Committee C Report and Opinion due to be finalised on November 4^th. This will be followed by consideration and a vote on the draft in plenary, both in general terms and in detail, and by the final overall vote.