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ortugal and Indonesia, both of which once occupied Timor Leste, are looking forward to cooperation in assisting Timor Leste acquire full membership with the current 10-member ASEAN.

“We expect Indonesia to contribute to the development of Timor Leste, to the role of Timor Leste in the international system ... at regional and international levels,” visiting Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Filipe Marques Amado said Wednesday after a bilateral meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa at the ministry. “So in the near future, Timor Leste can have full membership with ASEAN, but also with a strong capacity to participate,” Amado said.

Both ministers also inked an MoU to enhance the two countries’ relationships in economy, social affairs and culture.

Amado’s visit marked the first Portuguese foreign minister’s visit in a decade.

In response to Amado’s remarks, Marty said both Indonesia and Portugal shared a special “affinity” toward Timor Leste.

“What we are akin on is to see where the three of us, three sovereign countries working together, hand in hand, go in addressing global issues, regional issues, and — not least — to seize one another, engage one another in partnership and in promotion of a development agenda,” said Marty. “So no doubt, we’re looking at new opportunities in future collaboration with our Timor Leste colleagues …”

Timor Leste has been looking forward to being part of the ASEAN in an effort to boost its profile on the international stage.

Indonesia, the largest country in ASEAN, said it supported Timor Leste’s membership bid but said Dili should prepare itself to pledge commitment to one community under the regional grouping.

Timor Leste has set a deadline to join ASEAN by 2012, but President Jose Ramos Horta said in a recent interview with a Singapore newspaper that they were already extremely behind achieving that target.

Portugal colonized Timor Leste in the 16th century until Portugal’s decolonization of the country. In late 1975, them East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded by Indonesia. In 1999, following the UN-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and Timor Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002.