KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — Malaysia hosted the Asean Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) and Related Meetings today in Kuala Lumpur, according to its Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra).
Three senior official-level meetings were convened: the Asean SOM, the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ ExCom), and the 18th Asean Coordinating Council Working Group on Timor-Leste’s Application for Asean Membership (ACCWG-TL).
The meetings were chaired by Wisma Putra's secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, in his capacity as Malaysia's SOM Leader.
“As a regional bloc that maintains collaboration on shared interests, all discussions at the Asean SOM meetings were centred on ensuring comprehensive and forward-looking approaches for a more prosperous, peaceful and secure Asean region.
“The SOM Meeting discussed Asean's efforts towards strengthening Asean Community building, including the Asean Community Vision 2045, scheduled to be adopted at the 46th Asean Summit on May 26, 2025,” it said in a statement.
In this connection, the SOM congratulated and expressed appreciation to the High-Level Task Force for completing the task of developing and finalising the Asean Community Vision 2045 and supporting strategic plans in political security, economy, social culture, and connectivity.
The meeting also discussed the progress in implementing the Roadmap for Timor-Leste’s full membership in Asean, the application of external parties to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), and Asean's external relations.
The ACCWG-TL focused on Asean's continued efforts to advance Timor-Leste’s full membership in Asean.
The discussions reviewed the progress in implementing the Roadmap for Timor-Leste’s accession, strengthened capacity-building initiatives for Timor-Leste officials, and establishing the Timor-Leste Unit within the Asean Secretariat.
“Malaysia remained dedicated to working closely with Asean Member States and Timor-Leste to advance further the accession process in fostering regional unity and integration,” said Wisma Putra.
Meanwhile, the SOM and SEANWFZ ExCom meetings involved the participation of SOM leaders from Asean Member States.
The SEANWFZ ExCom meeting focused on Asean's continued efforts to advance global disarmament and non-proliferation, including the longstanding goal of securing the accession of Nuclear-Weapon States to the SEANWFZ Protocol, thereby strengthening both the Treaty’s legal standing and Asean's leadership in promoting a nuclear-weapon-free region.
— Bernama
