KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — East Timor’s prime minister pledged Sunday that his country would be a productive member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as it was formally admitted to the bloc in its first expansion since the 1990s.
After the flag of East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, was added to the other 10 on the stage at a formal ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao told the other leaders that “today, history is made.”
“For the people of Timor Leste this is not only a dream realized, but a powerful affirmation of our journey,” he said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating chairmanship, said East Timor’s accession “completes the ASEAN family, the affirming of our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship.”
He said ASEAN’s goal was to “pursue growth that is both resilient and fair, and to safeguard the welfare of generations to come.”
The integration of the region’s youngest and poorest nation — with just 1.4 million people — demonstrates ASEAN’s “inclusivity and adaptability, especially at a time of geopolitical flux,” said Angeline Tan, an analyst with Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic & International Studies:
“As protectionism is on the rise, the expansion of ASEAN demonstrates its commitment to regionalism, openness and equal participation,” she said.
The last country to join ASEAN was Cambodia in 1999.
East Timor, wedged between Indonesia and Australia, was a Portuguese colony for over four centuries before declaring independence in 1975.
Indonesia invaded nine days later, beginning a brutal 24-year occupation that claimed tens of thousands of lives through conflict, famine and disease. A U.N.-supervised referendum in 1999 paved the way for independence, which was formally restored in 2002.
Today it is led by two independence heroes, Prime Minister Gusmao and President Jose Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
They are trying to tackle high levels of unemployment, malnutrition and poverty. Some 42% of the country’s population live below the national poverty line. Nearly two-thirds of its citizens are under 30 years old, making youth job creation a high priority.
Its major source of government revenues comes from the oil and gas industry, but with resources quickly becoming depleted it is looking to diversify.
ASEAN membership gives East Timor access to the bloc’s free trade deals, investment opportunities and a broader regional market.
East Timor applied for membership in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022.
“For us this new beginning brings immense opportunity in trade, investment, education and the digital economy — we are ready to learn, innovate and uphold good government,” Gusmao said.
“This is not the end of a journey, this is a beginning of an inspiring new chapter. ”
