Phnom Penh (FN), Aug. 3 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, in his capacity as the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2022, expressed his optimistic that Timor Leste will become the 11th member of ASEAN by next year, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and related meetings, held on Wednesday (Aug 3) at Sokha Hotel Phnom Penh.

“Timor Leste's accession process is advancing well and I am optimistic that by next year we could welcome this country to the ASEAN family,” the premier underscored.

The Democratic Republic of East Timor is the youngest nation in the region, who gained independent from Indonesia in 20 May 2002. Since 2007, this country has been shown her commitment to become the 11th member of ASEAN. As a result, the official application for membership was summited in 2011.
=FRESH NEWS