An overview of the meeting

Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung, Head of Vietnam’s ASEAN SOM, revealed theinformation while chairing the 9th Meeting of the ASEAN CoordinatingCouncil Working Group (ACCWG) on Timor Leste’s ASEAN membershipapplication in the central city of Da Nang on March 5.

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

The Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries also agreed on survey reportsof the ASEAN Politics and Security Community (APSC)from last September.

Following the consensus among participants,ASEAN survey teams of the ASEAN EconomicCommunity (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) willevaluate the capability and readiness of Timor Leste in the context ofeconomics and culture before joining ASEAN.

Reports by the survey teams will be submittedto the ASEAN Coordinating Council for approval by the end of this year.

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

Dung strongly emphasised that major task of the ACCWG will focus on the ASEANmembership application of Timor Leste.

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

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

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

Reports and recommendations of the ACCWGwill be reported to theASEAN Coordinating Council for approval soon.

ASEAN now comprises 10member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./. VNA