Bishop’s 36 hours stop over, en route to Malaysia and Singapore, was the first time an Australian Federal Government Minister had visited its neighbor in nearly five years.

The relationship between the countries had deteriorated following the prosecution of a former Australian spy and whistleblower and his lawyer Bernary Colleary who had revealed Australia bugged Timor-Leste cabinet during maritime boundary negotiations in 2004.

A new maritime boundary deal was struck after UN conciliatory hearing in New York this year giving the majority of the Greater Sunrise gas field to Timor-Leste.

"We had a challenging relationship over the maritime boundary dispute but we resolved it in an exceedingly positive way," Bishop told AAP.

"I don't accept that [Australia bullied Timor-Leste]. I think Australia negotiated an outcome that enabled for example the Baya Udan [gas fields] to be developed, which has given rise to the [Timor-Leste's] petroleum fund of some $17 billion."

In a tweet sent Sunday, Bishop wrote: “Committed to a new chapter with Timor-Leste deeper cooperation on maritime security, trade, development and more political exchange.”

Dionisio Babo Saores, Timor-Leste’s Foreign Minister, acknowledged it was the first visit to Timor-Leste by an Australian foreign minister for “quite a while” but said the visit and maritime deal were milestones between countries with a strong and historical “people to people” relationship.

In a joint Timor-Leste and Australian statement, the two governments said the visit flagged “a new chapter in bilateral relations” and a “revitalized partnership” focused not only on close bilateral cooperation but also on working together in the Indo-Pacific region and globally.

Ratification of the Maritime Boundary Treaty was prioritized “upon conclusion of the transitional arrangements and their respective domestic treaty processes.”

“Ms. Bishop and Dr. Babo Soares committed to regular dialogue between their respective governments and agreed to convene annual meetings between Foreign Ministers and annual senior officials' talks through which bilateral priorities would be pursued.”

With the future of the potentially lucrative Greater Sunrise gas project still undecided, the Ministers “agreed to continue constructive discussions on the development of the Greater Sunrise resource, noting its importance for Timor-Leste's prosperity.”

Simplifying the investment and business environment to encourage and broaden bilateral economic partnerships and create jobs for Timorese was also prioritised.

This includes expanding initiatives such as the Seasonal Workers Program, Australia Awards, and New Colombo job plan.

Bishop said Australia would continue to support development programs, which was $91 million in 2018.

During the visit Bishop also met separately with the President of the Republic Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak, Fretilin leader Dr. Mari Alkatiri, and visited a number of education and training projects supported by Australian aid.