The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, Cambodia on 30 April 1999, and Timor-Leste on 26 October 2025 making up what is today the eleven Member States of ASEAN.
ASEAN organs always strive to achieve ASEAN’s goals and objectives, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making withing and amongst ASEAN bodies. In addition, each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to liaise with Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN shall develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organisations and institutions. This includes external partners, ASEAN entities, human rights bodies, non-ASEAN Member States Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN committees in third countries and international organisations, as well as international / regional organisations.
The rodmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) was declared by the leaders in 2009. The ASEAN Community, anchored on three community pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, Socio-Cultural Community was launched in 2015. The ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together was introduced in 2015 as a Post-2015 Vision. It comprises the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, Cambodia on 30 April 1999, and Timor-Leste on 26 October 2025 making up what is today the eleven Member States of ASEAN.
ASEAN organs always strive to achieve ASEAN’s goals and objectives, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making withing and amongst ASEAN bodies. In addition, each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to liaise with Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN shall develop friendly relations and mutually beneficial dialogues, cooperation and partnerships with countries and sub-regional, regional and international organisations and institutions. This includes external partners, ASEAN entities, human rights bodies, non-ASEAN Member States Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN committees in third countries and international organisations, as well as international / regional organisations.
The rodmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) was declared by the leaders in 2009. The ASEAN Community, anchored on three community pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, Socio-Cultural Community was launched in 2015. The ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together was introduced in 2015 as a Post-2015 Vision. It comprises the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, held an insightful discussion with Dr. Max Tegmark, Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and President of the Future of Life Institute, on the margins of the WEF Annual Meeting 2025, on 21 January 2025. Their exchange
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, engaged in a substantive discussion with Julie Bishop, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar, on 21 January 2025, to address the ongoing situation in Myanmar. Their dialogue focused on the critical role of UN agencies in supporting ASEAN
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2025, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, engaged in productive discussions with Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Ian Clifton Saunders, on 21 January 2025. Their conversation focused on strengthen
We, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) welcome the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which came into force on 19 January 2025.We commend the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the United States for the collaborative efforts in fa
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, participated in an interview at the WEF Annual Meeting 2025, highlighting ASEAN’s economic strengths and future vision. He emphasised the region’s growth driven by unity, strategic location and digital transformation initiatives such as the ASE
Co-Chaired by Malaysia and the Philippines, the 20th Meeting of the HLTF-ACV commenced today, 21 January 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a drafting session of the APSC Strategic Plan. The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and the Strategic Plans of the three Community Pillars and ASEAN Co
KUCHING, 20 January 2025 – The 3rd ASEAN’s Focal Group on Global Value Chains (FG-GVC) Meeting convened this afternoon in Kuching, Malaysia. The meeting brought together 17 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) sectoral bodies to advance ASEAN’s global value chain (GVC) agenda and strengthen th
