Less than 20 years after independence, Timor-Leste is running on fumes
When Timor-Leste won independence in 2002 the belief was it had petroleum reserves to last generations, but the money is running out much earlier than expected.
Timor-Leste’s two large oil and gas projects were supposed to endow its sovereign wealth fund for generations to come. Alamy
In the minutes before Timor-Leste’s independence was officially recognised in May 2002, the secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, rose to deliver words of hope and caution.
Dressed for the equatorial heat in an open-necked shirt, Annan reminded the crowd in the capital Dili that independence was not an end in itself.
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