𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬
Kuala Lumpur, 26 September 2025
His Excellency the Vice Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Augusto Junior Trindade, indicative leader of SEOM Timor-Leste, together with the delegation, held consultations with representatives of ASEAN Member States on the sidelines of the 57th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (57th AEM Meeting) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The ASEAN Member States that have already confirmed were the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, while Indonesia had previously conducted a bilateral meeting.

The objective of these consultations with ASEAN Member States was to request continued support regarding the issue of market access offers for goods already submitted by Timor-Leste, which are currently under negotiation.
They reaffirmed their readiness to accelerate the negotiation process on market access for goods prior to Timor-Leste’s admission as a full ASEAN member, expected in October 2025.

The ASEAN Member States also committed to providing technical assistance through “capacity-building” programs for officials in government institutions in areas related to the implementation of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).