JAKARTA, 4 November 2014 – Timor-Leste remains committed to joining ASEAN and is currently rolling out measures at the national level to consolidate its bid for membership of ASEAN. This was the message conveyed by H.E. Roberto Sarmento de Oliveira Soares, Secretary of State for ASEAN Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, during a courtesy call on ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh recently. According to Secretary Soares, the country’s Fifth Constitutional Government attaches great importance to ASEAN and has been raising ASEAN awareness among its citizens.
The Government of Timor-Leste, according to Secretary Soares, has established an institutional structure following ASEAN’s model with the establishment of focal points on ASEAN matters at each Ministry and the allocation of a specific budget for capacity building activities related to ASEAN. Further, he emphasised that Timor-Leste is ready to join ASEAN on a step-by-step basis and to contribute to ASEAN Community-building “to the best of its ability.”
In his remarks, Secretary-General Minh briefed Secretary Soares on the progress of ASEAN’s discussion and consideration of Timor-Leste’s application to join ASEAN, including the commissioning of independent studies to assess the impact of Timor-Leste’s membership to ASEAN Community-building. Meanwhile, Secretary Soares extended an invitation to Secretary-General Minh to visit Timor-Leste in the near future.
In February 2011, Timor-Leste had applied for membership to ASEAN. The application is currently being considered by the ASEAN Coordinating Council and its Working Group. (Courtesy ASEAN Secretariat News)
