PNN

New Delhi [India], February 3: The President, J. Ramos-Horta, and Prime Minister, Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmao of Timor-Leste attended the event as Guests of Honour, highlighting the deepening and friendly relationship between India and Timor-Leste.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmao of Timor-Leste congratulated the Government and people of India on the celebration of the country's 77th Republic Day and conveyed warm wishes for continued peace, progress, and prosperity.

India's 77th Republic Day is being celebrated by Indian missions across the globe. In Timor-Leste, the Embassy of India in Dili marked the occasion with a grand reception on 30 January.

Addressing the public, President Horta said:

It is a real pleasure to join you today to celebrate India's Republic Day, the entry into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, embodying the patriotic spirit, pride, audacity, and self-reliance that shaped India into the world's largest democracy, united, and a global powerhouse.

I thank you, Ambassador Shri Madan Kumar Ghildiyal, for the kind invitation. My appreciation is extended to your spouse and to all the staff of the Embassy.

I do have certain familiarity with India, having visited several times even before Timor-Leste's independence, the first time in April 1992, when I taught a 10-day course in Dharamshala covering diplomacy, human rights, negotiation, and organised a United Nations model.

During that visit, travelling by train across that vast country, I learned to admire and respect even more India's founding fathers, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, symbols who remind us of the enduring power of moral leadership, non-violence, democracy, and national development.

I have visited India several times since that first trip, before and after Timor-Leste's independence, including as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2004, during the early years of engaging with Indonesia.

In December 2013, I returned to New Delhi to deliver a lecture to an overflowing audience at the Nehru Centre. The title of my lecture was '21st Century: Asia's Century? Challenges and Opportunities.' The personality who introduced me was an old friend, the amazing Shashi Tharoor. If you want to be the centre of attention at your own event, don't invite Shashi--he will steal the limelight from you, such is his intellectual brilliance and mesmerising eloquence.

India's remarkable progress, its constructive and immensely important role regionally and globally, and its leadership in the Global South--from the Non-Aligned Movement to today's multipolar world--continue to inspire us and give us hope in a world facing a major hope deficit.

India is a global powerhouse, will be the third-largest economy by 2027, and is firmly on track to become a developed country by 2047.

Today's India can play an even more active and constructive role on the global stage, engaging with major powers and helping to shape international agendas.

This leadership was clearly demonstrated during the 77th Republic Day celebrations, when EU leaders signed a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. This event, very important for both India and the EU, should be very comforting to all of us who believe in multilateralism and a genuine rules-based world order. Multilateralism is not dead.

Since the formal establishment of relations in 2003, the partnership between India and Timor-Leste--rooted in shared democratic values--has continued to deepen and go from strength to strength.

In November 2019, His Excellency Mr. Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmao led a delegation to New Delhi to attract Indian investment in Timor-Leste's oil and gas sector, particularly the Greater Sunrise Project. This was followed by visits from three Indian companies to explore upstream opportunities and potential LNG integration.

In January 2024, President Horta participated in the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and met the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Discussions covered cooperation in IT, health, education, and the establishment of resident embassies.

As a result, Timor-Leste opened its Embassy in New Delhi in October 2024, and India established its Embassy in Dili in September 2024, reflecting the deepening political, economic, and cultural ties and facilitating direct governmental and business engagement.

In August 2024, the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, made a historic visit--the first ever by an Indian Head of State--to Timor-Leste. On the occasion, President Horta conferred Timor-Leste's highest honour, the Grand Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste, upon Her Excellency. During the visit, key agreements were signed on visa exemptions, cultural exchanges, and broadcasting cooperation between RTTL and Prasar Bharati.

In October 2023, the Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, conducted the first ministerial-level visit from India, discussing cooperation in health, trade, education, and capacity-building.

These visits and agreements strengthen bilateral ties and demonstrate India's enduring commitment to supporting Timor-Leste's development across political, economic, and cultural spheres.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

India has supported Timor-Leste in health, education, and development, including providing an ambulance in 2013 and vaccines in 2025. The Indian Embassy offers 25 annual scholarships, and about 600 Indian MBBS students are currently studying in Timor-Leste.

Cultural exchanges include Timorese artisans visiting India and Goan folklore groups performing in Dili. Development support includes the Bamboo Project and a Centre of Excellence in IT. Bilateral trade covers rice, pharmaceuticals, and sugar, while Timor-Leste seeks Indian investment in energy, agriculture, and logistics. Defence cooperation has included delegations to Aero India in 2023 and 2025.

Timor-Leste firmly supports India's aspiration for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and has backed India's candidacies for non-permanent seats and other international positions, including Professor Dr. Bimal N. Patel for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2026-2035).

India's role as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner strengthens regional trade and connectivity, while Timor-Leste's strategic location positions it as a potential regional logistics hub.

Our shared commitment to international law, regional cooperation, and peaceful dispute resolution--demonstrated by the 1999 Referendum and the 2018 Maritime Boundary Agreement with Australia--underpins our bilateral and regional collaboration.

Timor-Leste is a peaceful, secure, and welcoming country, free from ethnic or religious tensions, offering a stable environment for investment, collaboration, and travel.

President Horta encouraged Indian investors to explore opportunities in priority sectors such as agriculture, education, health, petrochemicals, and real estate, contributing to a shared vision of sustainable growth through international cooperation.

He concluded by expressing sincere gratitude to the Government of India and extending best wishes to the Government and people of India for continued peace, prosperity, and success.

Recalling Mahatma Gandhi, he said:

'Be the change that you wish to see in the world.'

Today, India is becoming that change--an inspiration not only to its own people but to the world we all aspire to build.

Bahut bahut dhanyavaad.May God bless you all.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)