Timor-Leste: Economic Development and Integration Challenges

Emerging from decades of conflict and strife, Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century in May 2002. Since then, it has made great strides in securing lasting peace and stability. As an economy in transition, Timor-Leste continues to face major challenges on the development and integration fronts, however. There is an urgent need to diversify the sources of economic growth and reduce the heavy reliance on government spending and revenues from natural resources. While it pursues long-term structural change, the more immediate challenge is to translate resource rents into sustained improvements in living standards by investing in improving competitiveness. Developing skills and other soft infrastructure, as well as improving connectivity will be key. Timor-Leste has also applied to join ASEAN and the WTO as part of its push to integrate with the regional and global economy. As the only Southeast Asian nation that is not yet a member of these two organizations, what barriers remain in realizing these ambitions? These are some of the issues that the webinar will try and address.

Speakers

• David Freedman, Resident Representative, Timor-Leste, International Finance Corp.
• Maria Martins da Silva, Economic Adviser, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Timor-Leste
• Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor Emeritus of the Southeast Asian Economies, Crawford School, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University