This article describes India's development partnership with Timor-Leste: training and capacity building, funded projects, humanitarian assistance, health cooperation and defence cooperation. It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026, and the courses and projects listed are those the brief records as of that date.

Scope of cooperation

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India and Timor-Leste have been cooperating at bilateral, regional and international levels since diplomatic relations were established in January 2003. India offers economic, technical and capacity building assistance to Timor-Leste through the projects described below.

ITEC training

India extends 15 ITEC training slots to Timor-Leste every year. The brief states that 18 Timorese candidates have benefited from these trainings since 2007, and that the Indian Mission is making efforts to increase enrolment for ITEC courses from Timor-Leste. The brief records these recent ITEC courses:

  • 10 officers from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission attended specialised two-week IT training in India in February-March 2026, for the Financial Year 2025-26.
  • 38 biomedical technicians from the Ministry of Health attended the ITEC course on Traditional to Deep Learning Usage for Image and Policies on Biomedical Devices in April 2026, for the Financial Year 2026-27.
  • 7 officials from the Ministry of Health attended the ITEC course on Digital Health Innovations from 6 to 19 May 2026.

Training for diplomats

12 diplomats from Timor-Leste attended the 1st Special Course for diplomats from Timor Leste, organised by the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS) from 20 to 29 September 2023. It was inaugurated on 20 September 2023 by Shri Gaddam Dharmendra, Dean (SSIFS). Its modules covered global issues, bilateral relations, India's Foreign Policy, India's e-Governance platforms, Climate Change and LiFE, development partnership and cooperation, and Holistic Healthcare with a focus on Ayurveda and Yoga. The diplomats visited the International Solar Alliance Secretariat, the All India Institute for Ayurveda, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya and the National Museum.

11 diplomats from Timor-Leste attended the 2nd Special Course for the Diplomats of Timor Leste and Cambodia at SSIFS from 9 to 18 March 2026.

Funded projects

  • Timor-Leste Center for Bamboo: the project "Establishment of Bamboo Skills Development and Demonstration Centre in TL" began with support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in October 2004 and was completed in March 2012, with a total budget of US$1 million. The Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) in Assam provided technical expertise. Its aim was to develop bamboo as an industry sector, and a skills development centre was created to train craftsmen; the institute now operates as the "Timor-Leste Center for Bamboo".
  • IBSA Fund project: "Conservation Agriculture, Permaculture and Sustainable Fisheries Management: Enhancing Food and Nutrition Security and Reducing Risk Disaster" was funded by IBSA at a total cost of US $1.4 million. It was developed by FAO with two NGOs, naTerra and Conservation International, under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and implemented on Atauro Island. Its Sustainable Agriculture & Permaculture Learning Centre was inaugurated at Atecru on 11 April 2019 by the Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries and the Ambassador of India to Indonesia.
  • India-UN Development Partnership Fund project: "Leveraging ICT to improve Education and Skills in Timor Leste" was launched on a pilot basis in the Oécusse Enclave on 10 April 2019 by Dr Mari Alkatiri, Shri Pradeep Rawat, Ambassador of India to Indonesia, and Mr Roy Trivedy, UN Resident Coordinator. Valued at $881,194, it provided computers, modems, printers and other equipment to local schools, enabling 1,000 primary school children and 4,500 secondary school students to gain computer skills, and produced ICT handbooks in the local language, Tetum.

The Government of India has also offered to set up a Center for Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) in Dili. The Government of Timor-Leste has allocated space in the Hera Campus of the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL) and is identifying the courses and the trainers who will undergo advanced training in Indian institutes.

In September 2025, India proposed a Memorandum of Understanding to finance five Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), each valued at up to US$50,000, for an annual commitment of US$250,000.

Health cooperation

In July 2013, the External Affairs Minister offered a grant in aid of US$ 100,000 to the Government of Timor-Leste, which was later used to donate an ambulance. The fully equipped ambulance, which can serve as a mobile operation theatre, was handed over to the Health Ministry in January 2016; the brief gives its cost to MEA as US$ 70,620. An anaesthesia machine and a patient monitor for it were supplied in July 2017.

The MoU on cooperation in healthcare and public health signed on 7 April 2018 expired in April 2023 and has been renewed for a further 5 years. After a serious rabies outbreak in several municipalities, Timor-Leste's Ministry of Health requested 10000 rabies vaccines and 2000 rabies immunoglobulins for human use, which India supplied in November 2025. The brief notes that the Ministry has still not officially accepted the consignment.

Health ministers and officials have also met at conferences and regional meetings. In 2013, Vice Minister of Health Mrs Natalia D. Araujo attended the International Conference on Traditional Medicine for Southeast Asian Countries in Delhi in February, and Minister of Health Dr Sergio G.C. Lobo met India's Minister of Health and Family Welfare in March. Minister of Health Dr. Elias Antonio de Araujo dos Reis Amaral led a 5-member delegation to the 76th meeting of the WHO Regional Committee in New Delhi from 30 October to 2 November 2023. In September 2015, Joint Secretary Mr. Anshu Prakash and Director Mr. Amal Push represented India at the WHO Regional Committee Meeting in Dili.

Humanitarian assistance

After Cyclone Seroja caused widespread destruction in Timor-Leste, India provided humanitarian assistance of 2000 MT of rice. The Ambassador of India to Indonesia formally handed over the consignment to the Timorese Government in May 2022.

Defence cooperation

The brief describes "intensive engagement" with the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Timor-Leste. Between 2011 and 2020, 11 Timorese armed forces personnel, 7 from the Army and 4 from the Navy, underwent ITEC-I training in India, and fresh ITEC slots have since been created for armed forces personnel.

The Chief of Defence Force (CDF) of Timor-Leste was briefed by the Mission during his visit to Jakarta in December 2022, with presentations on the Indian defence industry and the concepts of "Atmanirbhar Bharat" and "Make in India, Make for the World". In February 2023, he led a delegation to Aero India with the Senior Adviser to the Defence Minister, met India's CDS, CNS and Special Secretary, MoD, attended the SPEED DM Conclave and the Bandhan event, and was introduced to products from BEL and other industries. The two sides discussed a proposed MoU to institutionalise defence engagement; the Timorese side has shared a draft, which is under consideration with India's Ministry of Defence.

At Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru, from 10 to 13 February 2025, the Navy Component Commander, Cmde Higino das Neves, held a bilateral meeting with the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti.

One Timorese soldier is training under the NDA-154 course, scheduled from 30 June 2025 to 30 May 2028. As of July 2026, 3 further personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force are in long-term professional training in India under ITEC: at the 156th National Defence Academy (NDA) Course at Khadakwasla from June 2026 to May 2029, at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, from June 2026 to October 2028, and at the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, from June 2026 to December 2026.