Government of Timor-Leste

On November 2^nd, 2026, at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister Coordinator for Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and Environment, met with Kao Kim Hourn, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to review Timor-Leste’s integration process into the regional organisation, outstanding economic commitments, and preparations for its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029.

The meeting took place following the first anniversary of Timor-Leste’s full accession to ASEAN, formalised on October 26^th, 2025, and focused on fulfilling the remaining criteria under the accession roadmap, particularly on concluding the accession process to the organisation's remaining economic agreements and on establishing the necessary conditions for their implementation.

During the meeting, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay provided an overview of Timor-Leste’s first year of participation as a Member State across the institutional, economic, infrastructure, security, and diplomatic spheres. Preparations at the national level for Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2029 were also discussed.

Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to continue providing technical assistance to Timor-Leste in meeting its commitments within the organisation.

The national delegation comprised the Minister of Transport and Communications, Miguel Marques Gonçalves Manetelu; the Minister of the Interior, Francisco da Costa Guterres; the Vice-Minister of Trade and Industry, Augusto Júnior Trindade; Timor-Leste’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Roberto Sarmento de Oliveira Soares; and Timor-Leste’s Ambassador to ASEAN, Elisa da Silva.

As part of the visit, the ASEAN Secretary-General hosted an official dinner in honour of the Vice-Prime Minister on November 2^nd, providing an additional opportunity for dialogue on Timor-Leste’s participation in regional organisation initiatives.