Southeast Asian leaders on Friday (11/11) agreed to allow Timor read join the 10-member ASEAN regional bloc. This is according to a statement released by Cambodia as a host ASEAN Summit.
“We leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations … agree in principle to recognize East Timor as the 11th member of ASEAN,” the statement read. AFPFriday (11/11/2022).
East Timor is the youngest country in Southeast Asia, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
In ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, regional leaders agreed to grant observer status to East Timor and the right to attend ASEAN meetings and summit sessions.
ASEAN will now develop a roadmap setting out the criteria to be achieved Timor read before obtaining full membership.
The former Portuguese colony is one of the poorest countries in the world and is struggling with high levels of inequality, malnutrition and unemployment.
President Jose Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for ASEAN membership and the application for membership was first submitted in 2011.
Ramos-Horta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize, won a second term in April, having previously served from 2007 to 2012.
