Timor-Leste becomes ASEAN’s 11th member
Timor-Leste officially joins ASEAN as its 11th member after a 14-year wait, marking a historic step for Asia’s youngest nation at the summit in Kuala Lumpur.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Sunday formally accepted Asia’s youngest nation, East Timor, or Timor-Leste, as its 11th member during a ceremony at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
East Timor’s accession to ASEAN follows a 14-year wait since it first applied for membership in 2011.
As part of the ceremony, President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão — both heroes of the country’s independence struggle — took part in the signing of the declaration on the admission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste into ASEAN.
The admission was formalised by ASEAN leaders at the opening of their annual summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
ASEAN’s ten existing members are Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the admission of East Timor would complete the ASEAN grouping and better reflect the shared destiny and close ties of the peoples within the ASEAN community.
Gusmão said the membership would bring “immense opportunities” for trade and investment to his country.
“For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey,” Gusmão said in his speech. “Our accession is a testament to the spirit of our people — a young democracy born from our struggle,” he added. “This is not the end of a journey.”
East Timor was ruled for three centuries by Portugal, which abruptly withdrew from the colony in 1975. This paved the way for annexation and a sometimes bloody occupation by its giant neighbour, Indonesia, before the nation gained full independence in 2002.
