DILI, 18 october 2022 (TATOLI) – Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, today, held a meeting with the UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja at the Governmental Palace, where the two parties discussed the importance reform and modernization of public administration.
Minister Magalhães said Timor-Leste is grateful for all the assistance the country has received so far from UNDP since 2002.
Magalhaães said that the Government of Timor-Leste will deepen its relationship with UNDP to achieve tangible results that will contribute to the improvement of the Public Administration System in Timor-Leste: “Hopefully we can deepen the relationship, and find the way to achieve a tangible result that will contribute to the improvement of the functioning of the systems”.
“I look forward to working with UNDP, which has the technical capacity, support, and resources. The UN and UNDP are the natural trusted partners of Timor-Leste. I personally value the partnership between Timor-Leste and the United Nations System,” he said.
Magalhães said it was such a good opportunity to discuss a number of important issues with Kanni Wignaraja: “It is important to reflect on the cooperation we have had with the United Nations System in Timor-Leste, especially with UNDP over the years,” Magalhaes said.
Speaking to reporters, Wignaraja also raised the importance of modernization and reform of the public administration for Timor-Leste.
“Modernising public administration is about looking at a civil service that helps achieve world-class status when you want to move forward,” she said.
She added that the public sector and private sector have to come together and deeply understand what is most valued for the country’s next stage.
“I think, here in Timor-Leste, the growing investment in education is going to be the biggest winning bet,” she emphasized.
Wignaraja concluded that UNDP will certainly accompany a lot of leadership, looking to do this modernization and reforms of public services, digital ID, and one-stop shops: “We will move to support the scaling of these areas.”
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
