East Timor formally admitted to ASEAN in the group’s first expansion since the 1990s
Oct 25, 2025, 6:05 PM | Updated: 11:08 pm
Foreign ministers and economic ministers of ASEAN member countries pose for a group photo during the ASEAN Joint Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — East Timor was formally admitted Sunday into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the group’s first expansion since the 1990s.
The integration of the region’s youngest and poorest nation — with just 1.4 million people — is being hailed as a symbolic step for regional inclusivity. East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste was a Portuguese colony for over four centuries before Indonesia’s 1975 invasion.
ASEAN membership gives East Timor access to the bloc’s free trade deals, investment opportunities and a broader regional market — vital for diversifying an economy long reliant on oil and gas.
