Established in 2002, Timor Leste is a Southeast Asian nation that has been designated as a Least Developed
Country (LDC), as well as one of the 37 Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In September 2015, the
nation’s government passed a resolution that adopted the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). That resolution also called for the creation of a working group that would be chaired by the
Prime Minister’s Office as it led the country’s efforts on the SDGs. In December 2015, the government
issued a directive that formally established the SDG Working Group, and in February 2016, it further issued
a decree requiring the integration of the SDGs with the country’s annual budgets and plans. The group has
since formed and began leading Timor Leste’s work on the SDGs.
Alongside their internal efforts, Timor Leste’s government has championed the goals beyond the country’s
borders via the High-Level Group on SDG Implementation. That group includes global leaders who are
working to build support for implementation of the goals, while also securing commitment across all levels
of the organizations that will deliver the SDGs. Then Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araújo joined the group
when it was created in 2015.