Timor Leste Needs To Put Asean Membership To Good Use For Its Development

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THE Malaysian government’s hosting of the 47th ASEAN Summit has wowed both the domestic and international audience and the event, which was attended by all ASEAN members delegates from many other countries will be a feather in the cap for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
A lot of meticulous planning was done by Malaysia as the ASEAN Chair. Malaysia and the Asean nations mostly achieved what they had hoped for in the meeting. It was the largest gathering of world leaders since Anwar, fondly known as PMX, took power, and it was a laudable crowning achievement indeed.
There were a number of eventful happenings such as the first visit by US President Donald Trump, the participation by Japan’s first female prime minister Takaichi Sanae, and the signing of a Peace Accord between Thailand and Cambodia.
After a long wait, the ASEAN Summit also saw Timor-Leste becoming the 11th member. PMX made a great effort to fast track Timor-Leste membership during his tenure as ASEAN Chair.
Timor-Leste had gone through a lot of violence and bloodshed in recent decades, and looks forward to a brighter future through its ASEAN membership. The majority of the people in Southeast Asia support and sympathise with Timor-Leste as could be seen by the applause its leadership received during the ASEAN Summit.
Being a small nation with a population of about 1.4 million the country can progress rapidly to attain its objectives of becoming developed and prosperous if the government comes with progressive policies and the people remain united.
A large number of investors are waiting to see what opportunities may unfold with ASEAN membership. Already, Timor-Leste is hailed as the region’s most democratic country.
With this as the basis it will be able to attract investors who could build up the economy through participation in upgrading infrastructure, tourism, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and maritime industries apart from oil and gas.
The country’s liberal and democratic nature allows for plenty of growth by tapping regional tourism and with good planning and promotions it could rival Bali or the Maldives.
ASEAN membership gives the nation the much needed higher profile which it should use to attract diverse investments from the corporate and public sectors. There are plenty of investors looking for safe havens for their business operations, and Timor-Leste could come with attractive offers for its tourism sector.
There is huge potential for its tourism with its friendly people, beautiful and clean beaches. Timor-Leste needs to possibly declare 2027 as ‘Visit Timor Leste Year’ to enhance its tourism prospect throughtout ASEAN, Australia and Asia.
Timor-Leste has bright prospects for socio-economic prosperity in the coming decades with political stability and good domestic planning as well as fruitful cooperation in various fields with fellow ASEAN members. ‒ Nov 5, 2025
V. Thomas is a Focus Malaysia viewer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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