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DILI, East Timor: East Timor is slated to become the 11th member of the ASEAN regional bloc in October, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday during a visit to the Southeast Asian nation.
The accession will be formalized at a gathering of world leaders in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed Anwar, whose country currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
East Timor is the youngest country in the region, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.
“The accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN will be of immense benefit to us all,” Anwar told a press conference after a meeting with East Timor’s president, Ramos-Horta, in the country’s capital, Dili.
“We will certainly have a big celebration for your accession to ASEAN in October 2025,” he said.
Anwar said the two leaders also discussed trade, investments, tourism, education and defense during the bilateral talks.
He is also scheduled to meet with East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao during his visit.
President Jose Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for ASEAN membership, and an application was first submitted in 2011.
“Our discussions have been a warm, constructive focus on the future as we prepare for our historic accession to ASEAN in October in Kuala Lumpur,” Horta said.
“We are committed to working closely with Malaysia and all ASEAN members to fulfil their remaining milestones on our path to full membership.”
East Timor continues to grapple with high inequality, malnutrition, and unemployment.
Its economy remains heavily reliant on its oil reserves.
Earlier this month, thousands of protesters, led by students, rallied against a multi-million dollar plan to purchase Toyota Prado SUVs for each of the country’s 65 members of parliament and lifetime pensions for former MPs.
Demonstrators and police clashed for two days in a row. Following the protests, the country’s parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to cancel the new vehicle procurement. The parliament bowed to public pressure on the pensions matter as well.
ASEAN began as a five-member bloc in 1967 and has gradually expanded, with Cambodia the most recent addition in 1999.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur next month.

SEOUL: The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and the United States expressed concern about increasingly frequent destabilising activities around Taiwan in a joint statement after their meeting.
The three also expressed strong opposition to “unlawful maritime claims” in the South China Sea and attempts to enforce such claims, the statement said.
The statement did not specifically mention China, but comes amid simmering tension between Beijing and Washington and its allies over the disputed South China Sea.
China’s foreign ministry said it strongly deplored and opposed the “irresponsible” remarks made by the three countries, urging them to “cease any form of connivance with separatist activities of Taiwan independence.”
Regarding the South China Sea, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference that the nations should respect efforts by regional countries to resolve issues through dialogue and consultation, and stop “exaggerating tensions and provoking confrontation.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry welcomed the expression of concern.
Taiwan will cooperate with the United States, Japan, South Korea and other like-minded partners to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific, ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei told reporters in Taipei.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Unresolved disputes have festered for years over ownership of various islands and features.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi met in New York on Monday and also discussed the three countries’ continued commitment to ending North Korea’s nuclear program, their joint statement said.
China, which views the democratically-governed island as its own territory, has stepped up its military activities nearby, including staging war games. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s territorial claims.