• India will soon set up an embassy in Timor-Leste's capital Dili, which will make the Delhi-Dili connect stronger.

• Timor-Leste has also announced its intention to open its embassy in New Delhi.

• President Droupadi Murmu will undertake a six-day visit to Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste beginning August 5. She will visit the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on August 10 at the invitation of its President Jose Ramos-Horta.

• The visit comes seven months after President Horta's visit to India when he attended the 'Vibrant Gujarat' event and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on its sidelines.

Timor-Leste

• Timor-Leste is also known as East Timor.

• Timor-Leste became an independent nation in May 2002, following over 400 years of Portuguese colonisation, 24 years of Indonesian occupation, and three years of United Nations transitional administration. 

• Timor-Leste’s independence in 2002 resulted from a UN-sponsored referendum in August 1999.

• The country was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2002, making it Asia’s youngest democracy.

• The country faces the challenge of building a strong democracy and vibrant economy against a background of still-fragile institutions and limited human capital. 

• The capital of East Timor is Dili.

• The resource-rich country of 1.3 million people immediately started the process of accession to ASEAN, but only formally applied for membership in 2011.

• Timor-Leste’s foreign policy places high priority on relationships with its nearest neighbours, Indonesia and Australia, and other neighbors in the region. 

• Timor-Leste also places a high priority on its relations with friendly countries and donors, most notably the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), member states of ASEAN, and the g7+ grouping of fragile and post-conflict states.

• In 2020, Timor-Leste has also commenced the process for acceding to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a least developed country (LDC).

• In 1996, Jose Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo  for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.

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