DILI, 26 january 2026 (TATOLI) – The President of the Republic, Jose Ramos Horta, on wednesday (24/01), met with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace, Paris to discuss the future bilateral cooperation of the two countries.
This was the first meeting at the level of Heads of State that has ever taken place in the history between the two countries.
During the meeting, President Horta asked Macron to open the French Embassy in Dili, which would certainly strengthen Timor-Leste’s ties with France as one of Europe’s advanced countries.
“I asked President Macron to open France’s embassy in Timor-Leste. Macron agreed and soon will organize with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look into this matter. Because for us, it is important to have a big country like France open its embassy in Dili,” said Horta in a statement.
Meanwhile, Horta also requested Macron to mobilize investors to come and invest in Timor-Leste’s tourism sector, especially in the 5-star hotel area, to which President Macron immediately responded that he would discuss this matter with French hotel companies in due course.
They also discussed the ongoing wars and conflicts in the world and the region which President Macron admired President Horta’s position regarding the Myanmar crisis that is now starting to see change.
The pro-democracy leaders in Myanmar asked President Ramos Horta when going to France to also talk about Myanmar especially to ask for France’s support for Myanmar in terms of humanitarian resources once the military junta problem is over.
In addition, the Heads of State of both countries are committed to continue working together on some international initiatives especially related to President Ramos Horta’s concerns about the fight against extreme poverty in the world which affects children and pregnant women.
“We also talked about the seaport project and the new port in Tibar being built by the French company (Boloré), and President Macron was pleased with this information. We also talked about Timor joining ASEAN,” said the Head of State.
The Head of State added that his visit to France was not an invitation from the French State, therefore the meeting with his counterpart was intended to be just an informal meeting, but at the French Presidential Palace, he was received with a military parade (guard of honor), for which the Head of State is very appreciative.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
