Asean agrees in principle to admit Timor-Leste as 11th member
THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the group’s 11th member, the bloc said on Friday (Nov 11).
The half-island nation, which is officially called Timor-Leste, will also be granted observer status at high-level Asean meetings, the bloc said after regional leaders met in Phnom Penh to discuss the issue.
“We... agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste to be the 11th member of Asean,” the statement said, adding that next steps would include a “road map for full membership” to be submitted at next year’s summit.
The East Timorese voted for independence from a brutal occupation by neighbouring Indonesia in a 1999 United Nations-supervised referendum, and the country was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2002, making it Asia’s youngest democracy.
The resource-rich country of 1.3 million people immediately started the process of accession to Asean, but only formally applied for membership in 2011. REUTERS
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Asean
Vietnam holds first gold auction in 11 years to stabilise market
Thailand to replace military-appointed Senate, reduce its powers
Vietnam tech giant VNG seeks global push in gaming, AI cloud
Thailand’s 500 billion baht stimulus project gets Cabinet approval
Malaysia to build region’s largest chip design park in bid for top startup-hub status
Pundits divided on Bank Indonesia’s next move as rupiah hovers at multi-year low