Timor-Leste and Cuba extend cooperation agreement in the health sector
DÍLI, 30 September 2026 (TATOLI) – Timor-Leste and Cuba have extended their bilateral health cooperation agreement for another year, maintaining a framework that covers medical services, specialist training and the development of national health workers.
The extension was formalised in Dili on September 29 through a declaration signed by Timor-Leste’s Vice-Minister for Institutional Strengthening of Health, José dos Reis Magno, who was serving as acting health minister, and Cuba’s Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Grisel Alina Aldama Inniss.
The agreement, originally signed in Havana on September 22, 2022, provides the institutional basis for cooperation in medical assistance, specialised training, human-resource development, knowledge transfer and strengthening health services.
Health cooperation between the two countries dates back to 2003, following a meeting between Timor-Leste’s then-President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Since then, Cuba has provided medical professionals to work in Timor-Leste while supporting the training of Timorese doctors and other health workers.
A programme initially established to train 1,000 Timorese doctors has since exceeded that target, with more than 1,500 doctors trained, according to figures recently presented by Cuba’s diplomatic mission in Timor-Leste.
Cuban doctors and nurses have also worked alongside Timor-Leste’s health workforce, supporting services ranging from primary healthcare to hospital care while sharing clinical knowledge and experience with local professionals.
Specialist medical training remains a key component of the partnership. In September, 26 Timorese health professionals returned from Cuba after completing specialist training, including 24 doctors and two nurses.
Their fields of specialisation included paediatrics, radiology, oncology, cardiology, otorhinolaryngology, psychiatry, pathology, rehabilitation medicine, and emergency and intensive care.
The returning professionals have been assigned to different facilities within Timor-Leste’s National Health Service, including Guido Valadares National Hospital in Dili and referral hospitals in the municipalities.
Their deployment is intended to strengthen the country’s capacity to provide specialised medical care and support the transfer of expertise among health professionals.
Ambassador Aldama Inniss also reaffirmed Cuba’s willingness to continue supporting the specialist training of Timorese doctors and to further develop this area of bilateral cooperation.
The signing ceremony was attended by the National Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Health, officials from the Office of Health Policy, Planning, Partnership and Development, and Cuba’s coordinator of its medical brigade in Timor-Leste.
The one-year extension keeps the bilateral framework in place for continued cooperation in healthcare delivery, specialist training and the development of Timor-Leste’s health workforce.
TATOLI
