TATOLI, AAP foster collaboration in news sharing and journalism training
DÍLI, 06 August 2026 (TATOLI) – TATOLI News Agency and Australian Associated Press (AAP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to strengthen media cooperation through content sharing, newsroom training and institutional collaboration.
The agreement will give TATOLI’s journalists and editors access to AAP’s news reports, photographs, videos and graphics for publication across the agency’s digital platforms, including social media.
Founded in 1935, AAP is Australia’s national news agency and has operated as a not-for-profit organisation since 2020, with a mission to sustain independent public-interest journalism.
AAP Executive Editor Andrew Drummond said the partnership reflected a shared commitment to serving the public through accurate, independent and trustworthy journalism, adding that it was a privilege for AAP to work with TATOLI.
He said the agreement would enable Tatoli to access AAP’s international coverage on subjects including sport, diplomacy, climate change and other regional and global developments, expanding the range of content available to audiences in Timor-Leste.
Drummond said AAP’s operations are built around three core services: supplying news, images and sports coverage to media organisations; producing independent public-interest journalism; and delivering fact-checking to counter misinformation and disinformation.
Tatoli President Noémio Falcão said the partnership represented an important step in strengthening cooperation between the two news agencies while promoting professional, independent and fact-based journalism.
He said AAP’s international reputation for quality reporting and fact verification would create new opportunities for Tatoli to exchange news, strengthen journalists’ skills, share professional expertise and encourage innovation across Timor-Leste’s media sector.
Falcão said closer cooperation between news agencies had become increasingly important as misinformation continued to spread, adding that rigorous, credible and impartial journalism remained essential to maintaining public trust.
He said the agreement also demonstrated Tatoli’s commitment to enhance its services, raising national journalism standards and strengthening Timor-Leste’s international profile through reliable and trusted news coverage.
Secretary of State for Social Communication Expedito Dias Ximenes said the agreement marked a new chapter in media cooperation between Timor-Leste and Australia by promoting the exchange of information, knowledge and professional expertise.
He noted that Tatoli had previously established partnerships with Indonesia’s ANTARA and Malaysia’s BERNAMA as part of its strategy to expand regional and international cooperation.
Ximenes urged Tatoli’s journalists, editors and technical staff to continue upholding professionalism, competence and integrity in the digital era, saying those principles were essential to producing accurate, comprehensive and public-interest journalism while countering the growing challenge of misinformation.
TATOLI
