East Timor's ASEAN membership a win for Asia's youngest nation

23/10/2025 17:08

Asia's youngest nation East Timor is set to achieve a decades-long dream when it becomes the 11th member of ASEAN this weekend, which analysts say is a win politically although the economic benefits remain to be seen.



East Timor, Southeast Asia's poorest nation with 1.4 million people and slightly bigger than Qatar, applied to join the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022.



The nation gained independence in 2002 from neighbouring Indonesia, following a 1999 referendum overseen by the United Nations, and shares a border with the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.



Two of its independence heroes now lead the country: President Jose Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his efforts, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.



Commonly known as Timor-Leste, East Timor is trying to diversify its nearly $2 billion economy away from its heavy reliance on dwindling oil and gas reserves.