Accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN

The accession of Timor-Leste to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations started following the independence of the country in 2002 when its leaders stated that it had made a "strategic decision" to become a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the future. The country officially applied for membership in 2011.

Closer ties with ASEAN are supported by all political parties in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste would have by far the smallest GDP in the ASEAN, less than 15% of the smallest current ASEAN member state Laos. In 2022, the ASEAN agreed "in principle" to admit the country as the organization's 11th member, with full membership pending. During the 46th ASEAN Summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim suggested that Timor-Leste could officially join ASEAN during the following summit scheduled in October 2025.

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