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Delegates attending the meeting pose for photo. Photo: Cong Thanh

The 9th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Timor-Leste's ASEAN Membership Application was held in the central coastal city of Da Nang on Mar. 05. The meeting is presided over by Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the ASEAN SOM Vietnam delegation Nguyen Quoc Dung.

Participants reserved a half-day working session in discussing assistance activities for Timor Leste improving its capability and pre-operational works for joining ASEAN as a new member.

ASEAN member countries also agreed on survey reports of the ASEAN Politics and Security pillar (APSC) from last September.

Following the consensus among participants, ASEAN survey teams on Economics and Culture (ASEC) will evaluate the capability and readiness of Timor Leste in the context of economics and culture before joining ASEAN.

Reports by the survey teams will be submitted to the ASEAN Co-coordinating Council for approval by the end of this year.

Participants also agreed to give positive support to Timor Leste in strengthening and improving institutions, economics, income, living standards and knowledge of people.

Chairing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Vietnamese foreign affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung strongly emphasised that major task of the ACCWG will focus on the ASEAN membership application of Timor Leste.

He also asked the ACCWG for assessment of the impact from Timor Leste’s membership, before sending reports and recommendations to ASEAN foreign ministers and high-ranking officials’ meetings.

Dung requested ACCWG’s survey teams focusing on assessments of three pillars – Politics and Security, Economics, and Culture – during working sessions in Timor Leste.

Timor Leste submitted an application for ASEAN membership in 2011, and ACCWG was formed in 2012 to evaluate the capability and three pillars of Timor Leste.

Reports and recommendations of ACCWG will be reported at the ASEAN Co-coordinating Council for approval soon.

The ASEAN Joint Consultative Meeting (JCM) – the third working session of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting – will close on March 6.