(AseanAll) — On July 16th, 2026, the Government of Timor-Leste held the First Meeting of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the ASEAN Chair National Organising Committee (ACNOC) for Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MoFAC) in Dili.
In the afternoon, the 4th Interministerial Coordination Meeting on Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN and the 3rd Meeting of the National Organising Committee for the ASEAN Chair (ACNOC) were held. The meetings brought together members of the Government and leaders of State institutions to strengthen national coordination of preparations for Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029, assess progress in work carried out by the five strategic sectors, and define priorities for the next phase of preparation.
Established by Government Resolution No. 12/2026, the ASEAN Chair National Organising Committee serves as the national coordination mechanism for providing strategic guidance, oversight, and monitoring of preparations for Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029. Its structure comprises the National Council, chaired by the Prime Minister; the Executive Committee, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; and the National ASEAN Secretariat. Its work is organised into five strategic sectors: human resources and institutional capacity building; infrastructure and facilities; security and public order; communication and diplomacy; and finance, procurement, and strategic coordination.
The first meeting of the Executive Committee was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and marked the first session of this body since its creation. The meeting aimed to review the results of the first meeting of the 14 operational subcommittees, held on July 3, to assess the overall level of preparedness, and to define strategic priorities for the coming years.
At the opening of the meeting, Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas stated that hosting the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029 will constitute “the greatest diplomatic and organisational undertaking in the history of Timor-Leste,” emphasising that the success of this mission will require “a true Whole-of-Government approach” and a Whole-of-Nation approach, based on strong coordination among all State institutions.
The Executive Committee reviewed the consolidated reports from the five strategic sectors responsible for preparing for the Presidency, covering human resources and institutional capacity-building; infrastructure and facilities; security and public order; communication and diplomacy; and finance, procurement, and strategic coordination. Discussions focused on identifying the main cross-cutting challenges, validating national priorities, and approving priority actions for 2026 to guide the initial phase of implementing the national preparation plan.
Among this year's priorities are enhancing human resources capacity, assessing the readiness of national infrastructure, strengthening security coordination mechanisms, developing the national strategy for communication and public diplomacy, and consolidating financial planning, resource mobilisation, and the legal preparations necessary for the ASEAN Chairmanship.
The conclusions of the Executive Committee meeting were subsequently presented at the second meeting of the ASEAN Chair National Organising Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister. The Council reviewed the report presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on the Executive Committee’s work, discussed the next steps in the preparation process, and reviewed the decision document from the meeting, as well as other initiatives related to the preparation for Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029.
The meetings reaffirmed State institutions' joint commitment to ensure coordinated, timely, and sustainable preparations for Timor-Leste to assume ASEAN's rotating chairmanship for the first time in 2029.
