Anwar: Timor-Leste on track to full Asean membership by October

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 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 conditions of economic pillar,” he said in the wrap-up press conference to conclude the 46th Asean Summit 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.

Timor-Leste 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.

Conditions attached

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 Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister 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.

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.

Meanwhile, in his chairperson’s statement following the conclusion of the summit, Anwar noted that Asean leaders have tasked their ministers and senior officials to undertake the procedural steps for Timor-Leste’s admission by the 47th Asean Summit in October, as well as to expedite negotiations on key economic agreements.

“We tasked the Asean Coordinating Council, with the support of all relevant Asean Sectoral Ministerial Bodies (ASMBs) and the Asean Secretariat, to extend the necessary support to facilitate Timor-Leste’s integration into the Asean Community,” the statement read.

Asean member states have welcomed the operationalisation of the Timor-Leste Unit to monitor progress in the implementation of the membership roadmap and to coordinate support from Asean Member States and external partners.

According to the statement, they also encouraged their partners to continue supporting Timor-Leste in fulfilling the criteria outlined in the roadmap.

- Bernama

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