DILI, 04 october 2023 (TATOLI)—The Government of Timor-Leste through the Ministry of Finance (MoF), together with the World Bank hosted the annual meeting of the Public Expenditure Management Network in Asia (PEMNA) on the Budget Community of Practice (BCOP).
Deputy Minister of Finance (MoF), Felícia Claudinha Cruz Carvalho said the aim of the meeting is to facilitate knowledge exchange among public finance practitioners from the BCOP member countries.
“The meeting is crucial for BCOP member countries to share their experiences on best practices in public expenditure management, with the aim of boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of government spending,” said Claudinha at the Timor-Plaza’s Suai Room, in Dili, today.
She stressed that the meeting aimed to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance in public financial management.
Representatives from BCOP member countries, including the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia, attended the meeting at the Timor Plaza’s Suai Room, where they learned from each other’s experiences, shared knowledge and expertise, and explored new approaches to improving public expenditure management.
“This is a very important meeting because it would help us with the 2024 Budgetary Process,” Claudinha added.
The Country Representative of the World Bank in Timor-Leste, Bernard Harbone, said that the BCOP meeting brought together senior officials from the ministries of finance, as well as other stakeholders to discuss various key issues related to public expenditure management.
Harbone also said that members of the government must ensure effective budget spending to benefit citizens in return for the money they pay in taxes, saying when people give the government their money, they expect it to be executed transparently and effectively to provide good services to communities.
The B-COP meeting is an important forum for promoting better public expenditure management practices in Asia, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of citizens through more effective and efficient use of public resources.
The main overall objective of BCOP is to strengthen budget methodology, planning, and transparency in member countries. Members are typically mid- to high-level officials in budget planning or budget methodology/policy units in the budget departments/sectors in Ministries of Finance.
BCOP’s strategic priorities are i) sharpening tools for effective fiscal management, ii) strengthening fiscal transparency and accountability, and iii) expanding internationally available fiscal data on PEMPAL countries.
PEMNA, the Public Expenditure Management Network in Asia, is a peer-learning network of public financial management (PFM) officials and experts in the Asia-Pacific region. PEMNA aims to encourage knowledge exchange and capacity building in public spending management among Asian countries.
PEMNA brings together 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region to work together toward a shared vision, building stronger national budget and treasury systems – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
