DILI, 31 july 2021 (TATOLI) – The government of Timor-Leste is optimistic to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030.
Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak had affirmed that the Government counts on the support of development partners, including counseling, consultancy, and planning to achieve Timor-Leste’s goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country.
“We want to develop and implement an economic vision and a development model, which concentrates on people, by adapting to the new digitalization technology to modify our economic structures. Thus, we need to use our main resources, and our population, particularly the young Timorese,” Ruak made the comments during a meeting with the development partners, at the Ministry of Finance, in Dili, on Friday.
The goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country was supported by academic study and research, and international good practice principles: “We need utilize all the support given by the international development partners to have a better understanding of the problems, identifying risks and opportunities for appropriately recovering the nation.”
Ruak considered the 2022 General State Budget (OJE) as the first opportunity to put into practice a new intervention model with the capacity to resume, transform, and adequately recover the nation.
“We want to intelligently allocate our resources to avoid unnecessary duplication of resources and using all means that we have to unleash our potentials,” said Ruak.
“We count on the support of the development partners on this social and the economic recovery goal for a prosperous and modern nation, which means rich, strong, and safe,” said Ruak.
Therefore, the government is committed to allocating citizens to the center of the policy activities, particularly in several sectors, including education, health, electricity, water, and sanitation, social security, professional training, and promoting creativity and productivity, said Ruak.
He said Government is committed to achieving the goal of the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan (PEDN), 2011–2030 that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal (ODS) to combat hunger, poverty, and malnutrition and promoting equality and inclusivity, improving connectivity infrastructure, taxes, reforming public administration and judiciary system, promoting decentralization, territory planning, fiscal and taxes: “These are important to improve and increase the productivity and competitiveness of the nation.”
Ruak added becoming an upper-middle-country means a self-reliant Timor-Leste, without solely relying on the petroleum revenue: “It means we can attract investors into the country to develop our productive sectors—agriculture, fisheries, and tourism industry.
Journalist : Antónia Gusmão
Editor : Cipriano Colo
Translator : Filomeno Martins
Editor : Nelia Borges Rosario
