Speeches Shim
Economic Growth and Trade
USAID Tourism For All
Facing a fragmented tourism sector, USAID’s investment promotes Timor-Leste’s vision of becoming a competitive international tourism destination while preserving the country’s unique environmental and cultural heritage. The project focuses on two main objectives to achieve that vision. The first is to ensure that institutions, policies and laws are in place to fully implement the national tourism policy launched in 2017. The second objective is to promote sustainable private sector tourism investments and participation by Timorese communities, local and international NGOs, associations, and others, and create replicable models of sustainability and best practice.
Advancing Timor-Leste’s Autonomous Telecommunications Landscape (ATLATL)
Advancing Timor-Leste’s Autonomous Telecommunications Landscape (ATLATL) is a three-year, $3-million activity funded by USAID. Timor-Leste’s significant natural resources and strategic location in the Indo-Pacific region, combined with an unregulated ICT sector, increases potential for exploitation and cyber-attacks by external or internal forces. The underdeveloped ICT sector also represents a key binding constraint on economic growth opportunities and future investments. The ATLATL activity works towards achieving two objectives: 1) convene sector stakeholders to inform national policies and regulations for the ICT sector while transferring the skills and knowledge for the government of Timor-Leste to adopt and implement critical policies and regulations; and 2) engage the private sector in a manner that will catalyze private sector investment to improve essential infrastructure, products, and services and to help foster inclusive economic growth within an improved enabling environment.
Plastics Upcycling Alliance
USAID and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), through separate agreements with Mercy Corps (USAID’s agreement with Mercy Corps is the “Plastics Upcycling Alliance”), with local industry Caltech and global brewer Heineken dedicating cash and in-kind resources independently, have all aligned under a co-created framework for results to advance Timor-Leste toward ‘plastic neutral’ status. The combined effort, known as the Plastic Solutions Alliance, seeks to create a value chain for used plastic that will add to Timor-Leste’s small manufacturing base, bring a measure of diversification to the oil-dependent economy. To be successful, a supply chain for plastic waste must be created while simultaneously stimulating a market for products made from recycled plastic.
Accelerating Aquaculture in Timor-Leste
USAID’s support for aquaculture will increase fish farmer resilience and livelihoods by scaling freshwater tilapia production. The key activities are to 1) transition subsistence producers to commercial-scale fish production; 2) introduce integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems; 3) link production groups to local supply chains; and 4) develop harvest, post-harvest and distribution protocols and arrangements. With supplemental funding from USAID, partner World Fish will scale-up work currently funded by the Government of New Zealand to strengthen the fish supply chain, create enterprises and jobs, and to improve the nutritious status of consumers.
Emerging Economic Opportunities Activity
The office of Timor-Leste’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (MCAE) requested technical assistance in reviving the economy devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The MCAE plays a critical role in coordinating policies and activities across the Government of Timor-Leste related to economic development. USAID-funded advisors will assist MCAE in carrying out their mandate through the provision of advice on prioritizing infrastructure options, expanding domestic commerce and trade, fostering entrepreneurialism, increasing foreign direct investment and domestic investment, job creation, and economic inclusion for women and youth.
Powering Information Communication Technology (TIC)
To address the electricity needs for the anticipated telecommunication advances, Powering ICT will: 1) undertake a political economy analysis of the power and telecom sectors in Timor-Leste; 2) analyze and/or verify the technical capacity of the fiber optic network on Electricidade de Timor-Leste (EDTL’s) power transmission system; 3) recommend a reliable backup power supply system for the fiber network, preferably using renewable energy resources; and 4) develop options for a basic regulatory system/structure to enable transparency, competition, and accountability within the power sector. The activity will collaborate closely with USAID’s Accelerating Timor-Leste’s Autonomous Telecommunications Landscape (ATLATL) project and the Asian Development Bank, which have considerable experience in the ICT and energy sectors. Through this activity, USAID will not only improve its relationship with EDTL and other local stakeholders, but also lay the foundation for future investments in Timor-Leste’s energy sector.
Governance
USAID Custom Reform Project
USAID’s Customs Reform Project strengthens the Government of Timor-Leste’s (GOTL) Fiscal Reform Plan by improving the efficiency of international and cross border trade and transit. The project helps the GOTL reduce trade costs through implementing international best-practice customs clearance and transit procedures. This will encourage investment, increase government revenues, and support Timor-Leste accession to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Trade Organization. In line with good governance practices, the project increases transparency, clarity, predictability, and certainty in the trade environment. The project strengthens the institutional and human capacity of the new Customs Authority so it can follow global and regional best practices in trade and increase domestic revenues. Improved customs operations will help spur economic growth and investment by reducing trade costs and shortening customs clearance times.
USAID/Timor-Leste NGO Advocacy for Good Governance Activity
The USAID/Timor-Leste NGO Advocacy for Good Governance activity expands the NGO enabling environment and strengthens the organizational, research, networking, and financial capacity for up to eight mid-level local NGOs in Timor-Leste to provide increased evidence-based, sustainable advocacy services on behalf of citizens. A robust NGO sector is foundational to a democratically governed, rules-based state. The activity will focus on four objectives: strengthen NGO organizational capacity; improve advocacy, research, analysis and networking capacities for better response to constituents; foster more diverse and regular revenue streams, and; promote an enabling environment that fosters independent NGOs. High quality NGOs can help hold the government accountable and be transparent and responsive to the public interest, while supporting sound, just, and responsive governance. The activity will strengthen democratic systems to help build a more accountable, inclusive Timor-Leste.
Health
Communities Ending Violence Against Girls, Boys, And Women (HARMONIA)
Communities Ending Violence Against Girls, Boys, and Women (Harmonia) is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) activity in Timor-Leste working to end violence through a people-to-people approach that targets the drivers of violence at the household, community, and institutional levels. This will be done through behavioral change as well as efforts to strengthen the country’s enforcement of its Law Against Domestic Violence. Timor-Leste, a young, vibrant democracy, emerged out of a long history of violence with a legacy of a conquer-and -control political system, colonialism, a struggle for independence, and an overarching patriarchal social structure. Today, these factors continue to contribute to a culture of violence in Timor-Leste at the family, household, and community levels. This includes widespread violence against women, boys, and girls.
Healthy Relationship for a Violence Free Future
The Healthy Relationships for a Violence-Free Future activity promotes healthy, non-violent relationships, particularly between intimate partners, adolescents and their parents, and among adolescents/youth. The activity brings together these different groups to forge dialogue and rebuild fractured relationships, working to change behaviors and attitudes, as well as the underlying gender norms and inequitable social structures that drive violence against boys, girls, and women. Through community-based groups, such as parents’ clubs and church/community youth groups, the Healthy Relationships for a Violence-Free Future activity encourages a safe space to promote reconciliation and build trust. Through a life skills curriculum, adolescents and youth learn to build healthy and equitable relationships and promote peace in their communities. Community health volunteers (through the Promotor Saúde Familia organization), and faith, local, and youth leaders promote behavior and social norms that prevent violence. Adolescents, youth, men, and women are encouraged to model peacebuilding and healthy, equitable and non-violent relationships. The activity targets 5,000 people in 16 suco (villages) in the Covalima municipality.
USAID Health System Sustainability Activity in Timor-Leste
The USAID Health System Sustainability Activity in Timor-Leste is part of USAID’s Local Health System Sustainability project, a global initiative to help countries achieve sustainable, self-financed health systems and support access to universal health coverage and improve health and well-being. The Timor-Leste health sector has made remarkable progress toward establishing a functioning and effective health system. Timor-Leste opted for universal health coverage which means that all people have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship. In the last few years health systems have been at the core of the Ministry of Health and development partners' efforts. The rapidly changing environment like disease burden that is shifting rapidly and in an unpredictable way, the needs for additional resources mobilization, increased demand for quality of services, more call for integrated services and strong evidence that suggest investment in health systems strengthening guarantee the sustainability of lifesaving impacts of health interventions make the creation of a sustainable health system in Timor-Leste an imperative strategic investment.
Humanitarian Assistance
Building Community Resilience in Timor-Leste
To support sustainable preparedness strategies that empower vulnerable communities to cope with natural disasters independently, USAID is partnering with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to train national, district, and village officials on disaster preparedness and response techniques and to provide technical assistance to develop a national disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy. This program also strengthens livelihoods and enhances food security through community engagement in keyhole gardening and other environmentally friendly farming techniques, as well as awareness-raising on local vulnerabilities and hazards and the implementation of targeted mitigation strategies in disaster-prone municipalities. The program strengthens local response capacity by establishing Village Disaster Management Committees linked to Municipality Disaster Management Committees. DRR also is being added to existing programs in food security, water and sanitation and rural development.
Last updated: August 25, 2021
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