[2] Malaysia is supporting East Timor to be one of the members of ASEAN and towards becoming a democratic country.

[3] Since 1999, Malaysia has contributed to many UN peacekeeping missions on the country, such as one are the Operation Astute during the 2006 East Timorese crisis.

[3] Malaysia also has provided assistance to Timor-Leste in the area of human resources development through various training programmes and providing assistance to East Timor in its nation building efforts.

[4][5][6] Both countries are currently working together to expand the scope of co-operation and currently tangible signs of a Malaysian present on East Timor can be seen in the form of restaurants, a school teaching English and the supply of construction materials and spare parts for vehicles.

[7][8] In 2014, a memorandum of understanding on cooperative development and co-operation signed between the University of Malaysia Sabah and the National University of East Timor, a day before an MoU on healthcare been signed.