On October 22nd, 2026, at the Government Palace in Dili, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, met with the New Zealand Police Liaison Officer for Irregular Migration, Tim Chao—who was accompanied by the New Zealand Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Helen Tunnah—as part of a working visit by the New Zealand Police official to the country, which took place from October 19th to 24th.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations between Timor-Leste and New Zealand, as well as areas of common interest, with a particular focus on cooperation to combat transnational organised crime and irregular migration.
During the meeting, Timor-Leste’s priorities in these areas were discussed, along with opportunities to deepen cooperation—particularly through the sharing of information and experiences, capacity building, and strengthening coordination between the relevant institutions of both countries.
Tim Chao is posted to the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta, where he serves as Liaison Officer for Irregular Migration and is accredited to Timor-Leste. He has over 30 years’ experience in criminal investigation, including counter-narcotics, organised crime, intelligence, and asset recovery. From 2019 to 2023, he served as a New Zealand Police Liaison Officer to Europol in The Hague.
The visit to Timor-Leste includes a schedule of meetings with officials from relevant national institutions, aimed at fostering dialogue on challenges related to transnational organised crime and irregular migration, and at continuing existing cooperation in these areas.
Tim Chao previously visited Timor-Leste in April this year. During that working visit, he met officials from national institutions involved in security and criminal investigation, including the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the Scientific and Criminal Investigation Police (PCIC). Those discussions covered, among other topics, irregular migration, the prevention and combating of transnational crime, and cooperation between the authorities of Timor-Leste and New Zealand.