The EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €5 million in a development programme in Timor-Leste focusing on water, sanitation and forestry, the EIB announced on Wednesday 22 September.
This programme will enable partners to create a pipeline of bankable projects, identify their potential co-financiers and accelerate implementation with €4.75 million in technical assistance from the EIB and €250,000 in grants from the Cotonou Agreement envelope for Timor-Leste.
The projects developed under this partnership will aim to improve long-term resilience and help Timor-Leste, a small Pacific island state, to adapt to climate change and natural disasters, as well as to modernise utility services nationwide, including water, sewerage, drainage and waste management, the EIB said in a statement.
“Opportunities exist particularly in value chain development in agroforestry (niche markets/certification), carbon certification, renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, aquaculture and biodiversity conservation”, added the EU ambassador to Timor-Leste, Andrew Jacobs. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)