Parliament Supports Government That Wants Timor Leste To Become A Member Of ASEAN

President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste José Ramos-Horta, at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, 19 July 202 (Photo: BPMI Setpres/Laily Rachev)

JAKARTA - Member of the House of Representatives, Dyah Roro Esti supports the Government in recommending Timor Leste to join ASEAN. The hope is that it can strengthen and increase cross-sectoral cooperation.

"We appreciate that Indonesia is a priority destination for the President of Timor Leste's state visit after his victory and I think Timor Leste's membership in ASEAN can strengthen and enhance cross-sectoral cooperation," said Dyah Roro Esti in a statement in Jakarta, Thursday, July 28.

Until now, Timor Leste's membership status in ASEAN is as an observer state.

The young legislator said that it was not limited to the economic sector, cooperation in the social and cultural fields could also be carried out considering that Timor Leste is directly adjacent to the province of East Nusa Tenggara, so that people in the two regions still have socio-cultural ties.

This was conveyed by Roro Esti while attending a policy speech by the President of Timor Leste, Ramos Horta, which was held by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) in Jakarta, some time ago.

The event, which was held with the title "Indonesia-Timor Leste Relations, Regional Opportunities, Challenges and Geopolitical Cooperation, and ASEAN" was held in the midst of President Ramos Horta's first official state visit abroad since returning to his presidency.

President Ramos Horta is the 4th president and currently the 7th President of Timor Leste after winning in April 2022.

On this occasion, President Ramos Horta conveyed several things, including praising President Joko Widodo who had visited the leaders of two conflicting countries, namely Ukraine and Russia and expressed his hope to enter ASEAN.

If Indonesia holds the position of Chair of ASEAN in 2023, Timor Leste hopes to get Indonesia's support to join ASEAN, he said.

The same thing was conveyed by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a separate occasion, that President Ramos Horta said that in the last 10 years, Timor Leste's economy had developed rapidly so that it deserved to enter ASEAN.