The President of the Special Administrative Region Authority of Oé-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA - ZEESM - TL), HE Dr. Mari Alkatiri, met on Wednesday morning, January 23, 2019, with the Resident Representative ai of UNDP in Timor Leste, Mr Claudio Providas, to outline and officially sign the work program for the next triennium (January 2019 - December 2021). During the meeting UNDP team took the opportunity to recall the work that, in partnership with RAEOA - ZEESM - TL, has been developed in areas such as Education, Health, Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, Tourism and Procurement. Thus, in the context of cooperation with a budget of around USD 1 million, the UNDP has allocated a number of specialized human resources to the region, as well as procurement support, which have enabled savings for more than 20%, on vehicles and computer equipment.

In Agriculture, new technology introduced for rice production allowed the increase of 136% of local production. The pilot action will be replicated during 2019 in new 14,000 ha, involving several producers and their respective communities. At the same time, a value chain assessment study has been developed to help determine profitable crops, and within these varieties, which should receive investment support, given their potential for income generation of subsistence farming families. Using advanced technology, farmers in Oé-Cusse will have access to genetically improved seeds and training to increase productivity and competitiveness, as well as pedagogical actions to increase financial literacy and management capacities, for both individual and cooperative.

In Tourism, besides the mapping of local attractions, the project has developed brochures with relevant information for tourists and built signage on selected areas. With the aim of developing the Social Economy, tourist guides are being formed within each community. Moreover, the Oecusse Business Incubator has supported with financial and technical support. A new workshop for innovation is planned for February 2019. The incubator will also enter a second phase, with more training, more support and a stronger bet on innovation and younger entrepreneurs. For the success of these initiatives, UNDP officials emphasized the important work that has been done by the Region and led by the President of the Authority, Dr. Mari Alkatiri, with the suco chiefs.

Innovative approaches in the preparation of the Regional Development Plan for the next 5 years results in increased citizens participation, evidence and needs based budgeting and overall a stronger governance at the local level breaking a cycle of dependency and supply driven budgets for sucos and aldea

For the next three years, the partnership RAEOA - ZEESM - TL and UNDP intends to contribute to the acceleration of the growth of the local economy. "We want above all, to support the poorest people of Oé-Cusse to leave poverty behind by giving them tools and support," summarized the President of the Authority. The meeting was also attended by the Regional Secretaries Arsenio Bano, Leónia Monteiro and Inácia Teixeira and RAEOA focal person for the Project, Mr Rui Pinto.

At the end of the meeting UNDP and ZEESM TL RAEOA has signed a new project “Leveraging ICT To Improve Education and Skills in Timor-Leste” for U$D 881,193.20. The project will be funded by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. The project aims to improve primary and secondary education by providing children and young people in Oé-Cusse region with ICT skills and knowledge to prepare them to better address the challenges and opportunities of the economy.