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East Timor formally admitted to ASEAN in the group’s first expansion since the 1990s

Associated Press

Associated Press

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Malaysia ASEAN Foreign ministers and economic ministers of ASEAN member countries pose for a group photo during the ASEAN Joint Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — East Timor was formally admitted Sunday into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the group’s first expansion since the 1990s.

The integration of the region’s youngest and poorest nation — with just 1.4 million people — is being hailed as a symbolic step for regional inclusivity. East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste was a Portuguese colony for over four centuries before Indonesia’s 1975 invasion.

ASEAN membership gives East Timor access to the bloc’s free trade deals, investment opportunities and a broader regional market — vital for diversifying an economy long reliant on oil and gas.

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