DILI, april 17, 2023 (TATOLI)— World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), Manuela V. Ferro through his meeting with the Governor of Timor-Leste at the World Bank, Rui Augusto Gomes is committed to continue support Timor-Leste (TL) achieve development goals.
According to a statement seen by Tatoli, the bilateral meeting was held on April 14 where Rui Augusto Gomes was accompanied by the Chargé d’Affaires of the TL Embassy in Washington DC, Ambassador Antonito de Araújo.
The bilateral meeting took place during the 2023 World Bank and IMF (International Monitoring Fund) Board of Governors Meeting which was held in Washington DC – the capital of the United States from April 10 to 16.
One of the topics discussed by the two parties was politics and government intervention which has been applied over the past four years and has restored the TL economy which fell to -8.3% in 2020 and increased to 2.9% in 2021 and continues to increase to 3.9% in 2022.
World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific (EAP -English), Manuel V. Ferro appreciated the Government of Timor-Leste for the services they received when they visited TL last February.
This visit showed that TL had very good progress, the challenges that Timor-Leste was facing, and how the World Bank could support the country through these challenges.
“I am pleased to be able to meet the Minister of Finance, Rui Gomes at a time when the Timor-Leste economy is showing good signs of recovery. The World Bank is committed to continuing to support Timor-Leste. This discussion focuses on how the World Bank can support the country to maintain “Momentum Reforma” to achieve development goals, “explained Manuela Ferro.
During the meeting, Governor Rui Gomes shared information on the leadership of the World Bank Group regarding the 2024 GOP (Grandes Opções do Plano) Law Proposal which the Government led by Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak had presented to the National Parliament in early April 2023.
The proposed 2024 GOP law contemplates the overall spending value of the proposed 2024 state budget worth $2.07 billion. The public administration sector amounts to $1.7 billion and has decreased by $100 million compared to the 2023 State Budget with an allocation of $1.8 million.
The law proposal was prepared with 16 strategic areas in which the Government made a significant reduction from 275 stages to 124 stages.
On this occasion, Rui Gomes gave deep appreciation to the World Bank for any support in the field of Public Financial Management Reform (JFP) through the launch of the 2022-2027 JFP Reform Strategic Book including donors from Australia and the European Union, for the establishment of the Public Finance Management Secretariat in Ministry of Finance.
In addition, they were also informed about the transformation of two important institutions such as the National Procurement Commission (NPC) and the Timor-Leste National Statistical Institute into public institutes to increase management capacity as well as guarantee quality, impartiality, and guarantee state official statistics.
Also present at the meeting were the Director of the World Bank for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, the IFC Representative in Timor-Leste, David Freedman, and others.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
