KUALA LUMPUR, October 26. /TASS/. East Timor has officially joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The relevant declaration to that effect was signed at the summit of the Association in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

ASEAN was founded in 1967 by five countries of the region, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Five more countries joined it later: Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. East Timor had the special observer’s status with ASEAN and the country presented a formal request to join the association in March 2011.