The ‘Delhi-Dili’ connect — PM Modi holds bilateral meeting with Timor-Leste president

Tribune Web Desk

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, January 9   

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a bilateral meeting with Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta in Gujarat’s Mahatma Mandir.

Horta is in India for the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

According to the PMO, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including development partnerships in energy, IT, FinTech, health and capacity building.

Modi also met the delegation accompanying the visiting Timor-Leste leader and reaffirmed India’s commitment to buildong a vibrant ‘Delhi-Dili’ connect. The two leaders also discussed regional issues and developments in the Indo-Pacific. This is the first ever Head of State or Government-level visit between the two countries, according to an official statement.

'Delhi to Dili' connect

It was last September when PM Modi first spoke of “Delhi to Dili” connect while announcing an Indian embassy in Timor-Leste, or East Timor as it is also called. 

Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste—a southeast Asian country with significant strategic importance and geopolitical significance due to its location.

Modi also invited Timor-Leste to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). 

Horta, meanwhile, sought support from India in meeting its development priorities, particularly in areas of health care and capacity building in IT.

India and Look/Act East policy

According to reports, relations between East Timor and India date back to the early modern period when traders from the sub-continent travelled to the island in search of sandalwood.

The trade links increased after the Portuguese colonisation of East Timor and some parts of India.

The small country was under the dominance of the Portuguese till 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor resistance movement declared independence.

However, the new country was soon invaded by Indonesia which relinquished it following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination.

India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Timor-Leste and also participated in its Independence Day celebrations. A high-level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs represented India at the event in May 2002. 

Since then several high-level visits between officials of the two countries have taken place.

An MoU formally establishing diplomatic relations was also signed on January 24, 2003.

In the past, the country has supported India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat and also for the post of Regional Director, South East Asia Regional office (SEARO), WHO.  

Cementing ties with the friendly nation also supports India’s ‘Look/Act East’ policy, experts say. 

Timor-Leste—an ‘essential actor in Southeast Asia’

Officially called the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the country comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor (of which the western half is administered by Indonesia) the exclave of Oecusse on the north-western half and minor islands of Atauro and Jaco.

Dili is the capital and largest city. Separated by the Timor Sea, Australia is its immediate southern neighbour. 

Apart from the fact that Timor-Leste is a friendly nation, India's renewed interest appears to be backed by some other reasons as well, one of which is its geopolitical significance due to its location.

As per a research paper in the Journal of International Relations, since its independence from Indonesia, East-Timor has become an “essential actor in Southeast Asia”.

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