Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim yesterday wound up a two-day visit to Timor-Leste, a month ahead of the nation’s long-awaited accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Speaking at a joint press conference at the end of the trip, the first by a Malaysian leader in 22 years, Anwar said that the visit was intended to uphold the tradition whereby the current ASEAN chair visits all of its member states during its year at the bloc’s rotating helm.
During meetings in the capital Dili, Anwar and his Timorese counterparts agreed to strengthen cooperation in multiple areas.
Anwar said that once Timor-Leste’s membership of ASEAN is formalized, Malaysia’s close personal and diplomatic ties with President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao would “foster stronger cooperation in defense, digital communications, connectivity, investment, and trade,” as The Star reported.
“Our talks today were warm and productive,” Gusmao said at the press conference. “We agreed to further enhance our bilateral relations in key sectors, including trade, investment, higher education, health and tourism. Education and training, especially new scholarships and institutional partnerships, are also a high priority.”
Gusmao said that the two leaders also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues, “including peace, democracy, and Palestine, where we stand united in calling for an end to violence and respect for international law.”
However, the agenda of the visit was overshadowed by the prospect of Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN, a goal for the country’s leaders since its independence in 2002. Over the past nine months, Anwar has undertaken considerable efforts to ensure that the country would be admitted during his chairmanship of the bloc in 2025.
Speaking yesterday, he praised his Timorese counterparts for ticking off the numerous prerequisites of membership. (Back in May, Malaysia’s foreign minister said that Timor-Leste still needed to institute 66 out of the 84 required legal instruments, most of them related to the ASEAN Economic Community.)
“Within ASEAN, Timor-Leste has done whatever possible to accelerate the process, and Malaysia is delighted to host the function where Timor-Leste will officially become a full member of ASEAN,” Anwar said.
After addressing the country’s parliament, Ramos-Horta yesterday awarded Anwar the Grand Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste, the country’s highest award, “in recognition of his long-standing advocacy and Malaysia’s role in supporting the country’s ASEAN aspirations, especially as the ASEAN Chair for 2025,” the Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.
Anwar also highlighted the role of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who visited Timor-Leste in 2003, a year after its independence, in what many viewed as a signal of support and recognition for the country’s independence struggle. Mahathir’s visit was the first by a foreign leader after the nation won its independence the year before. It was also the most recent visit by a Malaysian leader prior to Anwar’s arrival.
Timor-Leste’s leadership hopes that ASEAN membership will help stimulate and diversify the country’s economy, which remains heavily reliant on oil and gas revenues, and reduce poverty levels that are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific.
These challenges have also been among the biggest obstacles to Timor-Leste’s admission into the Southeast Asian bloc. After it applied for membership in 2011, some nations, particularly Singapore, expressed concerns that it could widen the already considerable economic divide between ASEAN’s member states.