This article sets out how diplomatic relations between India and Timor-Leste were established, the positions the two countries have taken at the United Nations, and the high-level visits, meetings and agreements recorded by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026, which is dated "as on 23 July 2026".

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, India and Timor-Leste "enjoy warm and friendly relations based on shared commitment to the values of democracy, pluralism and diversity". India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste. It was represented at Timor-Leste's Independence Day celebrations in May 2002 by a high-level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Omar Abdullah, and letters of felicitation from the then President, Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister were handed over on that occasion.

A Memorandum of Understanding formally establishing diplomatic relations was signed on 24 January 2003. Both countries opened resident embassies in each other's capitals in 2024.

Indian diplomats and the UN presence in Timor-Leste

Two Indian diplomats served as Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) in Timor-Leste: Ambassador Kamlesh Sharma, from May 2002 to May 2004, and Dr. Atul Khare, from December 2006 to December 2009.

In November 2012, the Deputy Permanent Representative of India's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York was a member of the mini mission of the Security Council that visited Timor-Leste. Its purpose was to analyse the ground situation and hear the views of all concerned on the withdrawal of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) and the situation that would follow.

Support in the United Nations

Timor-Leste supports India's permanent membership of the UN Security Council. The brief records that Prime Minister Alkatiri formally announced this position at the UN General Assembly in 2003. Timor-Leste also supported India's candidature for a non-permanent seat for 2011-12 and again for 2021-22.

Visits and meetings, 2013 to 2019

Finance Minister Ms Emilia Pires visited India in May 2013 for the ADB Governors' Meeting. In early July 2013, the External Affairs Minister met the Foreign Minister of Timor-Leste in Brunei on the sidelines of the ARF Ministerial Meeting, and the two ministers discussed bilateral issues and ways to take the relationship forward.

Foreign Minister Mr. Hernani Coelho visited India from 27 to 29 March 2016 and met the External Affairs Minister, MOS (VKS) and the Minister of Health and Family Welfare. The brief describes this as the first ever visit by a Timorese Foreign Minister to India. As a follow-up, Vice Foreign Minister Mr. Roberto Sarmento de Oliveira Soares visited India from 4 to 6 December 2016 and called on MOS (VKS), the Commerce and Industry Minister and the Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

From 7 to 10 April 2018, Mr. Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, visited Dili as Special Envoy of the Government of India. He called on President H.E. Dr. Francisco Guterres Lu Olo, Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Mari Bin Amude Alkatiri, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation H.E. Prof. Dr. Aurelio Guterres, Minister of Justice H.E. Ms. Maria Angela Guterres Viegas Carrascalao, Minister of Tourism H.E. Mr. Manuel Vone and Minister of Education and Culture H.E. Prof. Dr. Fernando Hanjam.

The Special Envoy extended an invitation from the President of India to the President of Timor-Leste to visit India. He briefed the Timorese leadership on the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in New Delhi in March 2018, and invited Timor-Leste, which the brief lists among the prospective member countries of the ISA, to join the Alliance. A Memorandum of Understanding in the field of health care and public health was signed during the visit. He concluded the visit with a public lecture at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on the theme "Indian Foreign Policy and Modinomics", attended by civil servants, the diplomatic community and the local media.

On 2 August 2018, MOS (VKS) met the then Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares, on the margins of the EAS Foreign Ministers' meeting in Singapore. The Foreign Minister confirmed acceptance of the invitation conveyed in April 2018 and said the President of Timor-Leste would visit India the same year. MOS (VKS) offered to expand areas of cooperation, including the oil and gas sector, agriculture, health, defence, IT, capacity building and skill enhancement.

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Dr. Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares in Bangkok on the sidelines of the EAS Summit on 2 August 2019, and the two reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations.

Visits and meetings since 2023

Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh paid an official visit to Timor-Leste from 30 September to 2 October 2023, which the brief describes as the first ministerial-level visit from India to Timor-Leste since 2018. He called on President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao and discussed cooperation in health, agriculture, trade, hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, education and capacity building. He also held talks with Foreign Minister Mr. Bendito Dos Santos Freitas and Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Filipus Nino Pereira, and attended a detailed briefing on the health sector at the WHO resident office in Dili.

Foreign Minister Mr. Bendito dos Santos Freitas took part in the Foreign Ministers' Session of the 2nd Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS 2.0), held in virtual format on 17 November 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with President José Ramos-Horta in Gandhinagar on 9 January 2024, on the sidelines of the 10th edition of a summit in Gujarat that the Prime Minister inaugurated at Mahatma Mandir. The brief gives the theme of the 2024 summit as "Gateway to the Future".

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas in July 2024 on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Vientiane, Laos. On 17 August 2024, Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was among the leaders who took part in the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit hosted by India, whose overarching theme was "An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future".

State visit by the President of India, August 2024

President Smt. Droupadi Murmu visited Timor-Leste on 10-11 August 2024, the first-ever visit by an Indian Head of State to the country. She met President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, and the leaders discussed opportunities for enhancing bilateral cooperation on wide-ranging topics. President Horta conferred the highest civilian award of Timor-Leste, the "Grand-Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste", on the President of India.

India and Timor-Leste signed three MoUs during the visit, on:

  • Cultural Exchange Program for the years 2024-2028
  • Collaboration between Prasar Bharati and "Timor-Leste Radio & Television" (RTTL)
  • Exemption from visa requirement for holders of diplomatic, official and service passports

Latest meeting recorded in the brief

Shri Pabitra Margherita, Minister of State for External Affairs, met Foreign Minister Bendito Freitas in the margins of the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July 2025. They discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation for further strengthening what the brief calls the "Delhi-Dili partnership", and the Minister of State thanked Timor-Leste for its solidarity with India in its fight against terrorism.