KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) — Timor-Leste has been welcomed into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the grouping’s 11th member, following an official ceremony at the 47th ASEAN Summit in the Malaysian capital on Sunday.

Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao were present at the signing of the Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN.

Timor-Leste, located in the easternmost part of the Lesser Sunda Islands in Southeast Asia, applied for ASEAN membership in 2011. In November 2022, ASEAN member states principally agreed to admit Timor-Leste as a new member of the regional grouping.

The 47th ASEAN Summit and related summits were hosted by the ASEAN 2025 chair Malaysia on Sunday to Tuesday.

Established in 1967, the grouping includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste. ■