KUCHING: Timor-Leste’s long-awaited inclusion as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is finally seeing a positive light.
Malaysia’s deputy secretary general of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, shared that the bloc is determined to finalise Timor-Leste’s membership this year.
“It is time we ensure they are ready to become an ASEAN member. We intend Timor-Leste to join ASEAN this year because the application submitted by the country is almost 10 years old,” she said.
She said this when met by the media during the SEOM 1/56 welcoming dinner at Waterfront Hotel Kuching here last night.
Following this, she disclosed that discussions on Timor-Leste’s membership will progress from the ministerial level to the ASEAN Summit.
For the record, Timor-Leste, which gained independence in 2002, formally applied to join ASEAN in 2011 during Ramos-Horta’s first presidency from 2007 to 2012.
Only in Nov 2022 during the chairmanship of Cambodia did the 10 ASEAN countries agree in principle for Timor-Leste to join and grant it observer status.
In May 2023, during a summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, ASEAN adopted a roadmap for Timor-Leste’s full membership to support the nation in fulfilling the criteria for becoming a member.
