Malaysia pledges to facilitate roadmap for Timor-Leste’s membership of ASEAN
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim noted on December 12 that his country pledged to keep working with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to facilitate the admission of Timor-Leste as the 11th member of the bloc.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (R) receives Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta. (Photo: thestar)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim noted on December 12 that his country pledged to keep working with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to facilitate the admission of Timor-Leste as the 11th member of the bloc.
Malaysia will also continue to provide support for Timor-Leste in socio-economic development and security, he wrote on his Facebook page after a meeting with visiting Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta.
He said through the meeting, the two sides were able to assess the progress of cooperation between Malaysia and Timor-Leste and explore new areas of cooperation.
The PM expressed his hope that the relationship between the two countries will continue to be strengthened through various fields of cooperation.
According to the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two countries maintain warm and friendly relations. Malaysia was the first country to set up a liaison office in Dili on April 13, 2001 and also the first among ASEAN members to set up an embassy there, on May 19, 2002. Malaysia has been actively supporting Timor Leste in terms of social, security, and economic development by providing capacity building training courses for the latter’s officials through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme.
In 2021, Malaysia is Timor-Leste’s 8th largest trading partner while ranking 13th as export destination and 7th as import source. From January to October 2022, bilateral trade was recorded at 84.6 million USD./.
Timor-Leste has reiterated its readiness to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) while working with the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Fact-Finding Mission to the country.
Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta said on July 19 that he wants to help his nation boost trade with Indonesia and realise its bid to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year.
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed in-principle to admit Timor-Leste to be the bloc’s 11th member, according to a statement adopted on November 11.
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