PM Modi holds bilateral meet with Timor-Leste president in Gujarat, discusses ways to further strengthen ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday had a bilateral meeting with Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta in Mahatma Mandir in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. After the meeting, PM Modi said, “We discussed ways to further bilateral and cultural ties between our nations.”

Had an excellent meeting with President @JoseRamosHorta1 of Timor-Leste. The fact that our meeting is taking place in Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, makes this meeting even more special considering Gandhi Ji’s influence on President Horta’s life and work. We discussed ways to… pic.twitter.com/RYmCKKKyhm

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 9, 2024

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office (PMO), both the leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including development partnerships in energy, IT, FinTech, health and capacity building. PM Modi also met with the delegation accompanying the visiting Timor-Leste leader. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were also present during the meeting. PM Modi also congratulated President Horta for Timor-Leste’s upcoming membership of ASEAN. The Indian prime minister also invited Timor-Leste to join International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

PM congratulated President Horta for Timor-Leste’s upcoming membership of ASEAN.

PM invited Timor-Leste to join International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 9, 2024

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Timor-Leste President arrived in Gujarat on Monday to attend the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The MEA spokesperson said it is the first Head of State level visit between India and Timor-Leste. Notably, India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste. India and Timor-Leste established diplomatic relations in January 2003 and at the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta on 7 September, 2023. PM Modi had announced a decision to establish an Indian Embassy in Dili the capital of Timor-Leste. The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor Leste. Meanwhile, the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 will be held from 10 to 12 January at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The theme of the summit is ‘Gateway to the Future’ to celebrate “20 Years of Vibrant Gujarat as the Summit of Success”. The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was started in 2003 under the leadership of Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of the state. For this year’s summit, there are 34 Partner countries and 16 Partner organisations. The Ministry of Development of the Northeastern region will also utilise the Vibrant Gujarat platform to showcase investment opportunities in the Northeastern regions. The Summit will host various events including seminars and conferences on globally relevant topics such as Industry 4.0, Technology and Innovation, Sustainable Manufacturing, Green Hydrogen, Electric Mobility and Renewable Energy and Transition towards Sustainability. In the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show, companies will display products made from world class state of the art technology. E-mobility, Start-ups, MSMEs, Blue Economy, Green Energy & Smart Infrastructure are some of the focus sectors of the Trade Show. With inputs from agencies