Prabowo Signs Declaration Of Acceptance Of Timor Leste As ASEAN Member

Illustration: Photo: Doc. ANTARA

JAKARTA - Presiden Prabowo Subianto bersama pemimpin negara Asia Tenggara menandatangani Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN (Deklarasi Penerimaan Timor Leste ke dalam ASEAN) pada upacara pembukaan Konferensi Tinggi (KTT) ke-47 ASEAN di Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLC), Malaysia, Minggu, 26 Oktober.

The signing of the declaration marks the official acceptance of Timor Leste as a member of the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Apart from President Prabowo, the declaration was also signed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Brunei Sultan Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Lao Prime Minister Sonopay Smendone, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Myanmar was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs U Hau Khan Sum, while Timor Leste was represented by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xana Gusm Badminton.

With the joining of Timor Leste, ASEAN now consists of 11 member countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor Leste.

This new membership complements Southeast Asia's geographic representation of the organization that was founded since 1967.

Indonesia welcomes Timor Leste, who is the 11th member of ASEAN at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

"This is not the end, but the beginning for Timor Leste to improve its internal process and for all of us to support the country's full integration to ASEAN," said Indonesian Foreign Minister (Menlu) Sugiono, as stated in a written statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta, Saturday, October 25.

Timor Leste has also officially submitted its accession instruments to the ASEAN Charter and the Southeast ASEAN Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Agreement (SEANWFZ).

Timor-Leste's participation in the SEANWFZ will provide additional energy for ASEAN in creating a safe and peaceful region.