OECUSSE, 17 December 2025 (TATOLI) – The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry (MAPPF, acronym in Portuguese), through its Quarantine and Biosafety Unit, held a bilateral meeting with quarantine officials from Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), Indonesia, to discuss technical plans and regulations concerning the export and import of agricultural, livestock, and forestry products at the Sakato-Wini and Oesilo-Napan border crossings.
The meeting was held under the theme “Harmonizing services and strengthening cooperation at border areas to facilitate agricultural import and export activities.”
Manuel da Costa, Director of Quarantine and Biosafety in Timor-Leste, explained that the bilateral meeting aimed to technically address the legal importation of agricultural products, animals, and plantations across the border, while ensuring disease prevention and control.
He emphasized that this meeting was an initial step to exchange technical information. The quarantine technical teams will later submit proposals to higher-level authorities and conduct community outreach before implementing import and export plans for products through land borders.
“This meeting is important for Timor-Leste’s quarantine system because we are now members of the WTO and ASEAN, and we must implement sanitary standards. We will export and import agricultural products –some that we can already manage and others we cannot yet. Therefore, this bilateral meeting allows us to exchange technical information at the border, identify obstacles and challenges, and propose policy recommendations to higher authorities for future implementation on the ground,” he said during the session at Nidela Restaurant in Oecusse.
Gandaya Muhadad, representative of Indonesia’s Wini and Napan quarantine offices, confirmed that the bilateral discussion was relevant, as it enabled both sides to share technical information regarding the import and export of products and animals, helping to prevent illegal transactions and disease transmission.
He noted that in 2025, Indonesian quarantine authorities destroyed approximately one ton of agricultural products, including animals, due to illegal cross-border violations.
“This meeting is already the second of its kind. Previously, we held one in Mota-Ain, which was also highly relevant. Since NTT directly borders Timor-Leste, it is necessary to share information together to prevent diseases from crossing borders through import and export activities,” Muhadad stated.
The bilateral meeting was attended by senior officials from the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse-Ambeno (RAEOA), Indonesian authorities, customs, immigration, airport representatives, as well as security forces including the Border Patrol Unit (UPF) of Timor-Leste and the Indonesian National Army (TNI).
Journalist: Abílio Elo Nini
Editor: Rafael Ximenes de A. Belo
