DILI, 09 July 2026 (TATOLI) – The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved an indicative ceiling of US$2.1 billion for Timor-Leste’s 2027 State Budget, marking the next step in the government’s budget preparation process and reinforcing its medium-term fiscal planning.
The decision followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance, Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso, to the Council of Ministers on the preparation of the 2027 General State Budget (GSB), focusing on the adoption of a budgeting approach based on the Government’s political priorities and the use of future estimates as the foundation for the budget preparation process.
During the presentation, Minister Cardoso updated on the work carried out by the Policy Review Committee, the Government’s policy priorities under consideration, the methodology for developing the respective proposals, and the framework for multiyear budget estimates.
“The next steps in the process were also outlined, which include the drafting of proposals by the responsible entities, their review by the Ministry of Finance, and the subsequent evaluation of budgetary options,” said in a statement.
Following the presentation, the Council of Ministers endorsed the Policy Review Committee’s guidance on the Government’s 28 Policy Priorities, including the identification of the entities responsible for drafting the detailed proposals, with multi-year cost estimates, the implementation timeline, and the framework for monitoring and evaluation using performance indicators.
The Council of Ministers also endorsed the Future Estimates, which will serve as the basis for preparing the GSB for the next five years.
TATOLI
