KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asian leaders have agreed to accept Timor-Leste as the 11th member of the regional bloc at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in October, subject to the fulfilment of several remaining requirements for full membership.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, however, said that the leaders had reached a consensus to support Timor-Leste in taking all necessary steps to become a full member of the regional bloc.
“The decision was clearly to agree (that) they would become accepted as full member by next Summit in October, of course subject to one or two actions or reforms to be undertaken, particularly one of the condition of economic pillar,” he said in the wrap-up press conference to conclude the 46th ASEAN Summit, here today.
Timor Leste, which first applied for ASEAN membership in 2011, was granted observer status at high-level meetings in 2022. However, its full integration is still under evaluation.
Its Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, who was also in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Summit, was reported as being optimistic about securing the full membership by the end of this year.
Anwar said the parameters and pillars that must be fulfilled—encompassing political, economic, and legal dimensions—were preconditions previously established for Timor-Leste on its path toward full ASEAN membership.
Earlier, Timor Leste’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, said that joining the regional bloc is not merely about economic benefits, but also about amplifying the nation’s voice on the regional stage and aligning with ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
Timor-Leste has sought to join ASEAN since 2011. At the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in November 2022, ASEAN agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as its 11th member, contingent upon fulfilling the criteria outlined in the Full Membership Roadmap.
The roadmap includes three working plans focusing on political and security issues, economic cooperation and social and cultural ties, all of which Timor-Leste must implement before being granted full membership.
Current ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The 46th ASEAN Summit was organised under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025, themed “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” yesterday, followed by two high-level engagements – the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit – today.
