East Timor formally admitted to ASEAN in the group’s first expansion since the 1990s

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — East Timor’s prime minister told leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that it was a “dream realized” for his nation to be admitted to the bloc and an opportunity as it seeks to boost its struggling economy.

“Today, history is made,” Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao told the other leaders as the flag of East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, was added to the other 10 on the stage at a formal ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

It was ASEAN's first expansion since the 1990s and was more than a decade in the making.

“For the people of Timor Leste this is not only a dream realized, but a powerful affirmation of our journey — one marked by resilience, determination and hope,” he said.

The ceremony marked the opening of ASEAN's annual summit, followed by two days of high-level engagements with key partners including China, Japan, India, Australia, Russia, South Korea and the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived Sunday in his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House, and was expected to sign a trade deal with Malaysia later in the day. Trump was also to take part in the signing of an agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, expanding a ceasefire that halted their border conflict earlier this year.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Japan’s newly inaugurated Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are among more than a dozen other leaders expected to be on hand.

ASEAN membership brings East Timor, with a GDP of around $2 billion, better access to an economic community of nations with some 680 million people and a $3.8 trillion economy.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country holds the bloc's rotating chairmanship, said East Timor's accession “completes the ASEAN family, the affirming of our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship.”

He said ASEAN's goal was to “pursue growth that is both resilient and fair, and to safeguard the welfare of generations to come.”

The integration of the region’s youngest and poorest nation — with just 1.4 million people — demonstrates ASEAN's “inclusivity and adaptability, especially at a time of geopolitical flux,” said Angeline Tan, an analyst with Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic & International Studies:

"As protectionism is on the rise, the expansion of ASEAN demonstrates its commitment to regionalism, openness and equal participation,” she said.

The last country to join ASEAN was Cambodia in 1999.

East Timor, wedged between Indonesia and Australia, was a Portuguese colony for over four centuries before declaring independence in 1975.

Indonesia invaded nine days later, beginning a brutal 24-year occupation that claimed tens of thousands of lives through conflict, famine and disease. A U.N.-supervised referendum in 1999 paved the way for independence, which was formally restored in 2002.

Today it is led by two independence heroes, Prime Minister Gusmao and President Jose Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

They are trying to tackle high levels of unemployment, malnutrition and poverty. Some 42% of the country's population live below the national poverty line. Nearly two-thirds of its citizens are under 30 years old, making youth job creation a high priority.

Its major source of government revenues comes from the oil and gas industry, but with resources quickly becoming depleted it is looking to diversify.

Initially, the idea of bringing East Timor into ASEAN was met with skepticism by several other members, and even though that was overcome, Joanne Lin, co-coordinator of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute’s ASEAN Studies Centre in Singapore, said adding the nation is “not without challenges.”

“Timor-Leste’s administrative and institutional capacity still lags behind most ASEAN members, and full participation will require sustained technical and financial support from the secretariat and member states,” she said. “But its inclusion also brings new energy and perspectives — especially on issues like youth empowerment, democratic governance and small-state diplomacy.”

For East Timor, ASEAN membership gives it access to the bloc’s free trade deals, investment opportunities and a broader regional market.

East Timor applied for membership in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022.