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JOB/ACC/TLS/12  
 
17 October 2023  
(23-6975) Page: 1/3 
Working Party on the Accession of Timor -Leste  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF TIMOR -LESTE  
OPENING STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. FRANCISCO KALBUADI LAY , 
VICE PRIME MINISTER, COORDINATING MINISTER OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, MINISTER OF 
TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENT , AND CHIEF NEGOTIATOR  ON WTO ACCESSION OF TIMOR -LESTE  
6th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Timor -Leste 
Wednesday, 1 1 October 2023, 10:00 am  
1. First, let me start by thanking the Working Party Chair and the WTO Secretariat for the warm 
reception given to me and my  delegation in Geneva and for the sustained dedication to this process.  
2. I would also like to thank Members of the Working Party for their unshaken support and 
constructive engagement that made it possible to move the process this far, including our gatheri ng 
today.  
3. Following the Parliamentary Election in May, Timor -Leste now has its new Government that 
took office since 1 July. The recent Election demonstrated the strong adherence of the Timorese 
people to democracy and an open and free society. The new Go vernment, led by our Prime Minister, 
His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, is committed to building a strong economic foundation for 
our country's sustainable and inclusive development, including through early WTO and ASEAN 
accessions.  
4. On my recent appoin tment as Vice -Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, 
and Minister of Tourism and Environment, I am pleased to inform you that I have the pleasure to 
continue the role of my predecessor, Eng. Joaquim Amaral, as Timor -Leste's new Chief N egotiator 
for our accession to the WTO.  
5. As I pay tribute to Eng. Joaquim Amaral for leading and maturing this process from zero to 
this point, I am particularly honoured to be here to move this work forward exactly 3 years after 
the start of the active pha se of our work in October 2020. As you are aware, since Timor -Leste 
started down this road, it has worked relentlessly, reflecting its commitment in concrete action. 
The team has engaged with Members bilaterally and multilaterally, answering questions and 
accommodating requests. Together with Members and led by the Chair, a tremendous effort has 
been made to adapt and progress, constructively and creatively, to keep Timor -Leste on a 
fast-accession track.  
6. Building on this excellent work, I would like to ass ure all distinguished participants of my 
strong personal commitment to leading this process through its final steps, and I hope you will all 
agree with me that Timor -Leste is now in the very final stretch of joining the WTO. I am confident 
that the Working  Party will be in a position to adopt our Accession Package soon, looking ahead 
towards the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference in February.  
7. Thus, me and my esteemed colleagues come to this 6th Working Party Meeting with the very 
concrete purpose and mand ate to conclude all discussions in the Working Party, so that it could 
proceed to final procedural stage. I am confident that the great effort from the previous Working 
Party cycles and our recent progress on closing the remaining negotiations would enable  us to 
achieve today's goal.  JOB/ACC/TLS/12  
 
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  8. Let me update you of the progress made since the last meeting, which includes developments 
on the bilateral, multilateral and legislative fronts.  
9. First, I am pleased to report on the substantial progress achieved in our bilate ral market 
access negotiations with Members and proudly inform you that all negotiations have now been 
concluded.  
10. You would recall that, right after the 5th meeting, Timor -Leste signed bilateral agreements 
with Japan and Cambodia, in April. We have also co ordinated with Thailand, with who 
the negotiations were concluded in April, regarding the signing of the agreement following 
the establishment of a new Government in Bangkok.  
11. I am also most pleased to inform you that, after relentlessly working with the United States 
and Indonesia in the past months, our negotiations with both of these Members are formally 
concluded. The agreement with the United States will be signed this afte rnoon, while the agreements 
with Indonesia and Thailand are to be signed as early as possible in the coming weeks.  
12. Let me thank all ten involved Members for their constructive and substantive engagement in 
the negotiations, which allowed us to expeditious ly progress and conclude on this front.  
13. Second, on the multilateral track, we provided comprehensive responses to Members' 
questions and updated our inputs for the Draft Report of the Working Party prepared by the 
Secretariat. As reflected in the revised Draft Report, we have undertaken a total of 30 commitments, 
which now include 28 commitments unbracketed at the last meeting, and 2 draft commitments for 
consideration by the Working Party today. We appreciate Members active participation, in particular, 
the United States' language suggestions and we look forward to concluding all discussions.  
14. We would like to highlight that, as it has been demonstrated until today, Timor -Leste is fully 
committed to go beyond what's expected from it as an LDC. This is refle cted in the ambitious set of 
commitments which we are ready to undertake, including on joining the ITA and ITA Expansion 
Agreement.  
15. I am pleased to update that last month Timor -Leste delivered a presentation to 
the Committees on ITA and ITA Expansion on i ts draft ITA and ITA -II schedules, following 
the verification and circulation of the schedules in August. Following the meetings, we actively 
engaged with two Members to provide technical clarifications on the schedules, whereby concluding 
all exchanges on  this matter. We would like to thank these two Members – European Union and 
Japan, for their active involvement in this process. Timor -Leste looks forward to the upcoming 
Committees decision on Timor -Leste's membership to these plurilateral agreements on 1 9 October. 
I trust that this process is another evidence of Timor -Leste's readiness to fully participate in the 
multilateral trading system.  
16. Third, my report would be incomplete without an update on where we are on the legislative 
front. Consolidating and  revising our legal framework has been a priority pillar of our work during 
this whole process. Since the meeting in April, despite the change of Government, we have continued 
drafting and adopting the legislation needed for the accession and the post -accession period.  
17. While I will provide a more detailed report later, let me highlight that Timor -Leste has already 
put the majority of the committed pieces of legislation in place. Over the past three years, 
Timor -Leste has been diligently addressing the requi rements of the accession, with a focus on 
bridging the legislative and regulatory gaps identified by our dedicated team, Members and the WTO 
Secretariat. The number of legislations which remain for adoption is minimal.  
18. In our July submission, we have incl uded several newly adopted legislations. These include: 
Decree -Law on Animal Health and Quarantine, the Decree Law on Phytosanitary and Quarantine; 
first amendment to the Decree -Law on Business Registration; first amendment to the Decree -Law 
on Business Re gistration and Verification Service, I.P. (SERVE); first amendment to the Government 
Resolution on the establishment of the National Commission for Trade Facilitation (CONFAC); 
Government Decree on the Establishment of the National Secretariat for WTO Acce ssion; and 
the Law on Safety, Health, and Hygiene at Work.  JOB/ACC/TLS/12  
 
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  19. In addition, the Investment Reform Map and Guide were approved just days ago, while 
the Parliament Resolution on the Ratification of the HS Convention and the Decree -Laws on 
the Establishment of t he IP Institute, the National Registry of Ships and Vessels, and the Regulation 
for the Organization of Ship Inspection Services are in pipeline for adoption shortly after this 
meeting.  
20. Let me also inform the Working Party that, upon careful consideration , the new Government 
has made the principal decision to continue adhering to the agreed Legislative Action Plan which 
the Working Party has in front of it today. I would like to stress that our strong commitment to 
the adoption of WTO -consistent legislatio n remains steadfast.  
21. We will only be requesting for a minor technical alignment which is the removal of 
the Decree -Law on the Land Transport Authority from Part 1(A) of the LAP, which is no longer 
relevant under the programme of the new Government, and th e removal of the revision of the Tax 
Proceedings Code from Part 1(B) of the LAP, as the necessary provisions have already been 
incorporated in the revision of the Tax and Duties Act, which is also part of the LAP. We hope that 
this will be agreeable and wi ll be happy to elaborate on this under the respective agenda item.  
22. Having said that, I would like to re -confirm that our overarching goal remains unaltered: which 
is the timely completion of all legislations for pre -accession, ensuring their adoption as s oon as 
possible, no later than December 2023, with parallel advancement on the legislation for 
post-accession. In this regard, I would like to thank Members once again for having agreed to 
the Legislative Action Plan that offers Timor -Leste the flexibility  to meet its legislative commitments 
in the post -accession period while addressing the challenges that confront us today. We highly 
appreciate Members' special consideration of our LDC needs in this regard.  
23. I would also like to extend special thanks to Me mbers and partners who have supported us in 
this work. We are very grateful and continue to count on your assistance in this final stretch and in 
the post -accession phase.  
24. For Timor -Leste, this process remains, first and foremost, an opportunity to accele rate 
the important reforms which are essential to unleash the potential of our economy and to transform 
the country into a growing, healthy and well -educated middle -class Nation.  
25. Along with the members of the  current Government, I am fully confident that,  with your 
support, Timor -Leste can meet its target of becoming the 165th Member of the WTO at the upcoming 
MC13 in Abu Dhabi. I hope that our discussions today will confirm this and I look forward to the big 
day.  
 
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