The 47th ASEAN Summit opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 26th. Witnessed by leaders from ASEAN member countries, East Timor officially became ASEAN’s 11th member.
At the summit’s opening ceremony that day, the “Declaration on East Timor’s Accession to ASEAN” was officially signed, with the President and Prime Minister of East Timor in attendance.
East Timor, located at the easternmost tip of the Nusa Tenggara Islands in Southeast Asia, applied for ASEAN membership in 2011.
In November 2022, ASEAN member countries agreed in principle to admit East Timor as a member.
The 47th ASEAN Summit and its series of meetings were held from October 26th to 28th, with Malaysia serving as the ASEAN Chair.
ASEAN was established in 1967. Its previous member countries included Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.