New Delhi, Jan 9: President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta on Tuesday expressed strong support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

The PMO said that PM Modi and President Horta met in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. Modi extended a warm welcome to President Horta and his delegation to the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ on what is the first ever Head of State or government level visit between the two countries.

PM Modi re-affirmed India’s commitment to build a vibrant "Delhi-Dili” connect. In September 2023, he had announced the opening of the Indian Mission in the country. He offered assistance to Timor-Leste in capacity building, human resource development, IT, fintech, energy and healthcare including traditional medicine and pharma. He also invited Timor-Leste to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

He congratulated President Horta for ASEAN’s in-principle decision to admit Timor-Leste as its 11th member and expressed hope for its attainment of full membership soon.

President Horta thanked the PM Modi for the invitation to participate in the Summit. He sought support from India in meeting its development priorities, particularly in the areas of healthcare and capacity building in IT, official added.

The PMO said that the two leaders also discussed regional issues and developments in the Indo-Pacific. The leaders committed to continue their excellent cooperation in the multilateral arena. Prime Minister appreciated Timor-Leste’s active participation in the two editions of the Voice of Global South Summit. They agreed that countries of the Global South should synergise their position on global issues.

The PMO said that the bilateral relationship between India and Timor-Leste is anchored in shared values of democracy and plurality. India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Timor-Leste in 2002.

(IANS)

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