ASEAN SEEKS TO EXPEDITE TIMOR-LESTE'S MEMBERSHIP DOCUMENTS BEFORE OCTOBER SUMMIT
By Nabilah Saleh, Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid & Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- ASEAN member states have agreed that the documentation process for Timor-Leste’s full membership should be completed swiftly before the 47th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to be held this October.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the matter was agreed upon during discussions with his ASEAN counterparts at the plenary session of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), to ensure Timor-Leste can be formally confirmed as a full member of ASEAN during the summit.
“We are ensuring that the documentation for Timor-Leste is expedited so that the process can be completed in time for the ASEAN Summit in October,” he told the media after the session on Wednesday.
In May, ASEAN leaders agreed to admit Timor-Leste as the bloc’s 11th member in October, subject to its compliance with a stipulated roadmap.
Mohamad added that the move would send a strong signal of ASEAN’s openness and unity as an inclusive regional bloc.
Touching on the plenary session, Mohamad said the ministers also discussed ASEAN’s relations with external partners and stressed the need for ASEAN to become a more open bloc.
“To ensure ASEAN is not overly reliant on any single party, the region must be seen as an inclusive and open entity that welcomes cooperation from various external partners in areas of strategic relations and trade,” he said.
The 58th AMM and related meetings are taking place from July 8 to 11 under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025, themed “Inclusivity and Sustainability”, featuring 24 ministerial-level meetings involving ASEAN Dialogue Partners and Sectoral Dialogue Partners.
The four-day high-level event brings together around 1,500 delegates, including Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries, Timor-Leste’s foreign minister, ASEAN Dialogue Partners, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) participants, Sectoral Dialogue Partners, and senior ASEAN Secretariat officials.
-- BERNAMA
