International Cooperation

The department ensures the round-the-clock functioning of the national INTERPOL channel, providing uninterrupted access - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - to the global criminal-information sharing network linking the police of 196 member countries. Through this channel, international alerts, Red Notices for the arrest of fugitives, requests to locate suspects, provisional arrest warrants for extradition, and criminal information relevant to ongoing investigations are transmitted and received. The department is also the national point of contact for ASEANAPOL, the police-cooperation organisation of Southeast Asian countries, reinforcing Timor-Leste’s regional integration in the context of its ASEAN accession process.

The partnership with the Portuguese Judicial Police has founding roots in PCIC’s history. It was the PJ that, under the bilateral Cooperation Protocol signed in 2008, provided technical assistance for the creation of this institution, trained its first investigators and forensic specialists at the Judicial Police Academy in Lisbon, and supplied the organisational model and investigative methodology that still guide PCIC’s work today. This historic partnership remains active, with the Portuguese PJ as a privileged partner in continuous training, sharing of best practice, and cooperation on investigations involving suspects or assets in Portuguese territory or in Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP). The formalisation of this relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding is foreseen under the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan.

Cooperation with the Australian Federal Police is a priority axis of PCIC’s international strategy, reflecting the strategic importance of Australia as a security partner of Timor-Leste. The AFP has recognised experience in combating transnational organised crime, trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, and financial crime in the Pacific and Southeast Asian region - areas that represent direct threats to Timor-Leste’s security. The 2020-2030 Strategic Plan sets as a goal the conclusion of a formal partnership agreement with the AFP, creating a structured framework of operational collaboration, information sharing, and joint training.

Cooperation with the Indonesian national police is determined by geographic proximity and the shared land border between the two countries, factors that make bilateral police coordination a permanent operational necessity. Drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, smuggling, and organised crime with ramifications across both territories require a coordinated response based on agile and trusted communication channels. The department maintains working relations with POLRI, and the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan foresees formalising this cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding and the possible appointment of a liaison officer to INTERPOL in Singapore, facilitating regional coordination.

Beyond the bilateral partnerships mentioned, the department actively promotes PCIC’s participation in international forums on criminal investigation and forensic sciences, including the National Director’s presence at meetings of the CPLP Heads of Police and at regional gatherings. Partnerships are also foreseen with the Judicial Police of Cape Verde, the National Criminal Investigation Service of Mozambique (SERNIC), and the Judicial Police of Macau, reinforcing cooperation ties in the Portuguese-speaking world and consolidating Timor-Leste’s presence in international networks against crime.