Publications
Summary of publication
Australia and Timor-Leste’s partnership is profoundly important to both countries. We are located 650 km apart and the peace, stability and prosperity of our countries is deeply interconnected. When Timor-Leste took the courageous step of voting for independence in 1999 and asked the international community for help, Australia answered. Following Timor-Leste’s independence, Australia quickly became Timor-Leste’s largest development partner. Our countries have strong people-to-people connections and expansive cooperation programs.
Purpose of the Development Partnership Plan
The Australia—Timor-Leste Development Partnership Plan 2025–2030 (DPP) translates into action the development priorities Australia shares with Timor-Leste. The DPP sets out agreed objectives, how we will work together to deliver shared outcomes, and how progress will be monitored. It also identifies where Australia can add value to Timor-Leste’s national development priorities and how Australia will work with other development actors, ensuring the Australian Government’s contribution to Timor-Leste’s development ambitions is well coordinated.
Preparing the Development Partnership Plan
The DPP is informed by extensive consultations with diverse stakeholders in Timor-Leste and Australia. It draws on meetings with over 90 representatives from across the Government of Timor-Leste and considers the views of the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Government of Timor-Leste ministers and officials from 16 Government of Timor-Leste agencies. We also held workshops with more than 170 representatives from local organisations and civil society to gather a wide range of community views.
Joint objectives of the Australia – Timor-Leste development partnership
The overarching goal for the Australia – Timor-Leste development partnership is to foster a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Timor-Leste. We aim to achieve this by focussing our efforts in four key areas:
Objective 1: Quality services
Focus areas include Public financial management; Civil society; Health; Basic and inclusive education.
Objective 2: Inclusive and sustainable economic growth
Focus areas include Infrastructure and connectivity; Private sector development; Labour mobility; Skills development; Scholarships; Women’s economic empowerment.
Objective 3: A sovereign, stable and resilient nation
Focus areas include Disaster preparedness and community resilience; ASEAN; WTO; Cybersecurity; Border security; Biosecurity; Police and defence cooperation.
Objective 4: All people thrive and prosper
Focus areas include Prevention of, and response to, violence against women, children, and people with disability; Disability equity; Civil society.
To meet these objectives we will deliver high-quality, transparent and evidence-based programs that respond to Timor-Leste’s needs.
Our broad development cooperation reflects our enduring commitment as close neighbours, the strength of Timor-Leste’s development agenda and our intent, as reflected in the DPP, to make our relationship even stronger.