Summit of Southeast Asian nations opens in Malaysia with Timor-Leste joining as 11th member
Malaysian premier hosting 47th ASEAN summit, with participation of presidents from US, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, among others
The head of the ASEAN Summit delegation is signing The Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia on October 26, 2025
- Bloc of Southeast Asian nations marks 1st expansion in 26 years with inclusion of Timor-Leste, which applied for membership in 2011
- Timor-Leste’s ‘place here completes the ASEAN family,’ says Anwar Ibrahim
ISTANBUL
The summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened Sunday in Malaysia, where leaders welcomed Timor-Leste as its 11th member, marking the bloc’s first expansion in 26 years.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is hosting the 47th summit, which runs through Tuesday. Malaysia is the chair of the bloc, which is the fifth time since 1967.
At the opening ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, leaders attended a signing ceremony to officially admit Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, which first applied for membership in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022.
ASEAN, a regional organization founded in Bangkok on Aug. 8, 1967, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is hosting leaders from ASEAN member states, along with leaders and top officials from the US, South Africa, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea and other key partners, for the summit under the theme, “Inclusivity and Sustainability.”
“Timor-Leste’s place here completes the ASEAN family - reaffirming our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship. Within this community, Timor-Leste’s development and its strategic autonomy will find firm and lasting support,” Anwar said in opening remarks to the summit.
US President Donald Trump is attending the summit where, alongside Anwar, he will attend the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, which saw deadly border clashes in July.
A nation of 1.3 million people, Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002 and is the first nation to join the bloc of Southeast Asian nations since Cambodia’s admission in 1999.
Malaysia is the current chair of the bloc, the fifth time since 1967.
Reflecting on Malaysian chairmanship of the ASEAN this year, Anwar said, “Leadership is never a matter of routine; it is a matter of choice: to define priorities, renew ASEAN’s sense of purpose, and chart a course worthy of our peoples’ hopes.”
