Superior Council of Defense and Security assess the national situation
DÍLI, 01 October 2026 (TATOLI) – The President of the Republic, Jose Ramos-Horta, convened a meeting of the Superior Council of Defense and Security this Thursday at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Dili.
The meeting, which had not taken place since March 14, was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the Head of State and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, allowing the two leaders to align beforehand on major national issues.
Subsequently, the extended Council session aimed to debate the current state of national security and brought together the country’s highest officials, including representatives of key institutions such as the FALINTIL – Defense Forces of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL), the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL), the Scientific Police for Criminal Investigation (PCIC), and the National Intelligence Service (SNI).
During the meeting, the members of the Council discussed a broad range of threats, with a particular focus on cybersecurity crimes, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
According to the Head of the Executive, Xanana Gusmão, who gave a statement following the audience, the meeting was highly productive, with all participants sharing their analyses and agreeing to hold a new session of the Council before the end of this year to continue refining the country’s defense strategies.
The Presidency of the Republic and the Government share a generally positive assessment of the current security situation in Timor-Leste, with the Prime Minister expressing his gratitude to the professionals of the various institutions for their daily commitment to their duties. However, Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmão were resolute in acknowledging the need to continuously improve and adjust processes and operational responses in order to ensure increasingly effective protection and achieve excellence in maintaining the security and well-being of the entire Timorese population.
TATOLI
