United Nations – Nearly three months after East Timor's independence, the UN mission in the fledgling southeast Asian nation is on course to finish its work and shut down in two years, a top UN official said on Tuesday.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Hedi Annabi told a closed meeting of the 15-nation Security Council that the UN Mission of Support in East Timor, known as UNMISET, was "on track ... to be completed in mid-2004," said US Ambassador John Negroponte, the council president for August.

"The East Timor Defense Force is taking over operational responsibilities from UN peacekeepers as planned, and East Timor's civilian police units are replacing United Nations Civilian Police Units in a timely fashion," Negroponte told reporters after the meeting.

East Timor has also joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and is working to fully delineate its border with Indonesia over the next year, although it is lagging in setting up its justice system and naming civilian experts to government support posts, Negroponte added.

Prior to independence on May 19, East Timor had been administered by the United Nations since late 1999, a few months after its people voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia. Jakarta had invaded and seized the territory in 1975 after colonial ruler Portugal pulled out.

Since independence, UNMISET has cut its peacekeeping force to about 5,000 troops from 8,000 last year. The mission also includes about 1,100 civilian police officers.

"We all look forward, with great pleasure, to welcoming East Timor as a full member of the United Nations in September," Negroponte said.

The Security Council has already voted to recommend East Timor for membership as well as Switzerland, and the UN General Assembly, which currently has 189 member-nations, is expected to complete the application process for both countries next month.