Kuala Lumpur: ASEAN Foreign Ministers today reaffirmed their strong support for Timor-Leste’s full membership in the regional bloc, acknowledging the country’s significant progress in implementing the ASEAN Roadmap. Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan highlighted this development as a key outcome of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), held on the sidelines of the 46th ASEAN Summit, which also approved a proposal to establish a Special Taskforce for Timor-Leste.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamad Hasan emphasized the need for Timor-Leste to diligently fulfill all requirements and ensure compliance with ASEAN’s legal instruments, expressing hope that full membership could be formalized during the ASEAN Summit with Dialogue Partners at the end of October this year. He noted that the ASEAN Secretary-General had mentioned an existing Timor-Leste Unit tasked with facilitating the country’s fulfillment of the Roadmap, including its accession to ASEAN’s legal instruments.
Mohamad commended the meaningful progress made by Timor-Leste in implementing the Roadmap, as reflected in the Progress Report, during a press conference today. Earlier, he chaired the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
He reiterated that Timor-Leste must work doubly hard to fulfill all legal requirements, most of which fall under the ASEAN Economic Community. He mentioned the necessity for Timor-Leste to fulfill approximately 66 legal instruments, particularly in the economic sector, and suggested allowing them a certain number of years to meet these requirements to ensure inclusivity and sustainability, aligning with ASEAN’s theme this year.
Today’s meetings also called for continued deliberations by the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) to develop necessary guidelines facilitating Timor-Leste’s legal accession and full participation within ASEAN institutions. Additionally, the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Commission adopted a draft addendum to the SEANWFZ Treaty, providing a legal pathway for Timor-Leste’s accession to the treaty.
The adoption of the Addendum marks a significant milestone in integrating Timor-Leste into ASEAN’s political and security frameworks, with ASEAN member states now beginning domestic legal procedures aimed at finalizing Timor-Leste’s accession by the 47th ASEAN Summit in October.
The ministerial-level meeting outcomes will be further deliberated at the ASEAN Leaders’ level during the 46th ASEAN Summit, chaired by Malaysia. Timor-Leste, which gained independence in 2002, was granted observer status in ASEAN in 2022 and has been working towards full membership based on a structured Roadmap endorsed by the regional bloc.
The 46th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings, held under Malaysia’s 2025 Chairmanship theme ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability’, are expected to address a broad range of pressing regional and international issues, with the ongoing crisis in Myanmar remaining a central concern for ASEAN member states. This year marks Malaysia’s fifth time chairing the regional organization, having previously assumed the ASEAN Chairmanship in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
In addition to the ASEAN-level meetings, two key inter-regional summits-the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit-will also take place on May 26 and 27, signaling the growing engagement between Southeast Asia and its strategic partners in the Gulf and China.