Latest news with #AseanForeignMinisters'
![[UPDATED] Asean committed to Timor-Leste's full membership by October, says Anwar](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2FBN052607255_1748342634.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[UPDATED] Asean committed to Timor-Leste's full membership by October, says Anwar](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
New Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Asean committed to Timor-Leste's full membership by October, says Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: Asean will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Timor-Leste becomes the 11th member of the economic bloc by October this year. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the bloc had agreed to accept Timor-Leste as a full member, pending the completion of necessary legal requirements under the Asean Foreign Ministers' (AFM) framework. "Timor-Leste was considered; they have been working hard, (but) there were parameters and pillars that need to be met, (including) political, economic, legal and they have tried very hard. "Malaysia, Indonesia and several other countries have assisted in many ways to help them meet the pre-conditions that were set for any entry into Asean, and I would say we are quite satisfied. "So the decision was clearly to agree that they would be accepted as a full member by the next session in October. "However, this is subject to one or two actions or reforms that must be undertaken, particularly to fulfil certain conditions under the economic pillar," he said. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Timor-Leste must work "doubly hard" to secure full Asean membership, including adopting the necessary guidelines under the AFM framework related to Asean's legal instruments. While the regional bloc is eager to assist Timor-Leste, Mohamad said the country must also demonstrate its own commitment. He said that Malaysia, as this year's Asean chair, had proposed that Timor-Leste be admitted as the bloc's newest member despite not having fulfilled all 84 legal instruments required.
![[UPDATED] Timor-Leste's Asean entry gets full support from regional leaders](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2FASEAN_SUMMIT_2025_29ec58f5ed0b4c469b2de4ea9d332cd1_1748239050.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
New Straits Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Timor-Leste's Asean entry gets full support from regional leaders
KUALA LUMPUR: All Asean leaders are in support of Timor-Leste's accession to the regional bloc, says its Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão. Speaking to the media at the 46th Asean Summit, he expressed confidence that his country would be able to meet all the necessary criteria under the Asean legal framework. "We will try our best. We've already fulfilled many of the criteria, but there are still one, two, or three remaining. We will complete them before the end of the year," he said. When asked whether he was confident about meeting the requirements by October, the outgoing leader responded enthusiastically, "Yes!" "Because everyone supports us — everybody. It's incredible. "You know why? Because we are a small country, standing alone there," he added. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Timor-Leste must work "doubly hard" to secure full Asean membership, including adopting the necessary guidelines under the Asean Foreign Ministers' (AFM) framework related to Asean's legal instruments. While the regional bloc is eager to assist Timor-Leste, Mohamad said that the country must also demonstrate its own commitment. He said that Malaysia, as this year's Asean chair, had proposed that Timor-Leste be admitted as the bloc's newest member despite not having fulfilled all 84 legal instruments required. Mohamad added that Malaysia viewed Timor-Leste's inclusion as significant and believes the country should be given several years to fully comply with the legal obligations for membership.
![[UPDATED] Mohamad: Asean supportive, but Timor-Leste must show commitment](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2FASEAN_SUMMIT_2025_4390f12d6dfb40c0a76c3e875564fa21_1748162813.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
New Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Mohamad: Asean supportive, but Timor-Leste must show commitment
KUALA LUMPUR: Timor-Leste must work "doubly hard" to secure full membership in Asean, including adopting the necessary guidelines related to Asean legal instruments under the Asean Foreign Ministers' (AFM) framework. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said that while the economic bloc is keen to assist Timor-Leste, the country must also demonstrate its own commitment. "We will do our best to facilitate Timor-Leste's accession, because the majority of us (in Asean) want to see the country as part of the family. Now, Timor-Leste must work hard to fulfil and comply with the instruments (under the AFM framework), and we will try our best to assist them," he said. Mohamad said Malaysia, as Asean Chairman, has proposed that Timor-Leste be admitted into the economic bloc as its newest member this year, despite the country not yet having fulfilled all 84 of the bloc's legal instruments. He said Malaysia sees it as important for Timor-Leste to become part of the Asean family, and that the country should be given several years to meet all the legal instruments required for full compliance. "There are still many legal instruments that Timor-Leste must adopt, and from what we have seen, the number has been reduced from 84 to 66 — most of which fall under the purview of the Asean Economic Community Council. "At the same time, we are also exploring proposals that, if full compliance is not yet possible, Timor-Leste could be allowed to join first with a timeline set to fulfil the remaining conditions later," he said. He also said Asean will now begin undertaking their respective domestic legal procedures with the aim of finalising Timor-Leste's accession process by the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits in October 2025. This, he said, follows the adoption of the Addendum to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty and its deposit with Thailand as the Depositary State. Meanwhile, asked about claims that the Philippines was blocking Timor-Leste's accession to Asean, Mohamad briefly said such claims were merely rumours. "Do not listen to rumours — there is no truth to it."
