JAKARTA/AMBENO (TOP) – One year after Timor-Leste became the 11th member of ASEAN, the bloc’s Secretary-General, Kao Kim Hourn, has reaffirmed the Secretariat’s commitment to helping Dili finish the job of full integration.
Kao received Vice Prime Minister, Minister Coordinator for Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and Environment Francisco Kalbuadi Lay at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The meeting focused on how far Timor-Leste has come, and how far it still has to go.
Remaining Roadmap criteria
The two officials exchanged views on Timor-Leste’s continued integration, including progress on the remaining criteria under the Roadmap for Timor-Leste’s Full Membership in ASEAN. The Roadmap sets out the political-security, economic and socio-cultural requirements the country must meet to take part fully in the bloc’s work. Formal membership does not mean the work is finished, and Dili is still implementing the Roadmap’s remaining benchmarks.
Economic agreements
Both sides also discussed Timor-Leste’s efforts to complete its accession to the remaining ASEAN Economic Agreements (AEAs), which govern trade, investment, services and economic integration among member states. Acceding to them is central to Timor-Leste’s ability to benefit from ASEAN’s single-market ambitions, and to the government’s goal of diversifying an economy long dependent on petroleum revenue.
The talks also covered ways to strengthen cooperation so that Timor-Leste can implement its ASEAN commitments effectively. Signing agreements is one step, and having the institutional capacity to carry them out is another. That is often where smaller and newer members face the greatest pressure.
Kao reaffirmed the Secretariat’s continued commitment to supporting Timor-Leste’s full and effective integration into ASEAN.
An anniversary and a milestone
The visit comes as ASEAN marks the first anniversary of Timor-Leste’s accession. Timor-Leste was formally admitted as the bloc’s eleventh Member State on 26 October 2025. ASEAN described the milestone as a step toward broader regional integration that strengthens solidarity among members and advances their shared commitment to peace, stability and cooperation. On the anniversary, it reaffirmed its aspiration for what it called a cohesive, resilient and people-centred ASEAN Community.
The prime minister’s message
Kalbuadi Lay’s visit follows an earlier trip by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, who delivered a policy speech at the Secretariat. He said he was the first head of the Timor-Leste government to visit the Secretariat since the country joined.
PM Xanana presented accession as the culmination of a long journey, from Portuguese colonialism and the Indonesian occupation to the 1999 referendum and the restoration of independence on 28 May 2002. He credited reconciliation with Indonesia as the foundation for that path. He said Indonesia’s first directly elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, first encouraged Timor-Leste to apply for membership in 2011.
On the responsibilities of membership, Xanana said the government has adopted a “whole-of-government approach” to ASEAN, making it the duty of the entire government rather than a single ministry. He said it is strengthening laws, regulations and institutions across all three ASEAN pillars and modernizing its customs system and trade and investment rules.
“Our government considers that participation in ASEAN structures and meetings is not an expense,” he said. “It is an investment in our country’s and our region’s future.”
He also outlined what Timor-Leste hopes to gain. Membership places it in a regional community of more than 670 million people, he noted, compared with Timor-Leste’s 1.3 million. More than 60 percent of Timorese are under 30, and he said they will benefit from ASEAN’s education, labour, innovation and digital initiatives. Membership, he added, gives confidence to potential investors.
PM Xanana tied ASEAN integration to the country’s energy plans, saying he is confident it will support the Tasi Mane Project, the south-coast petroleum hub to be anchored by the Greater Sunrise gas field. He also pointed to tourism as a growth area and said he hopes to visit most ASEAN countries in 2026.
He addressed regional events as well. He offered condolences to Indonesia over the deadly floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. He voiced concern over renewed fighting along the Cambodia-Thailand border despite the peace accord of October 2025, calling for a return to dialogue and for protecting civilians.
“Our history has taught us that no nation is too small to make a difference, to uphold dignity, justice and the right to live in peace,” Xanana said.
Why it matters
For Timor-Leste, ASEAN membership is both a diplomatic milestone and a long-term test of state capacity. Meeting the remaining Roadmap criteria and completing accession to the economic agreements will determine how much the country gains in practice, from trade access to a stronger voice in regional decision-making. Kalbuadi Lay’s visit shows Dili keeping these commitments on its agenda, while the Secretariat offers technical and institutional backing.
