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
On the sidelines of his participation in the 23rd CAEXPO, in Nanning, China, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 September 2026, held a meet-and-greet with representatives of Chinese media outlets, including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Media Group, China Daily, Chin
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 September 2026, delivered remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 RCEP & ACFTA High-Level Dialogue on Collaborative Growth on 17 September 2026. Highlighting the continued dynamism of ASEAN-China economic relations, Dr. Kao called for ASE
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 September 2026, met with Governor of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, H.E. Wei Tao, during his participation at the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning, China. Both sides exchanged views on the growing cooperation between ASEAN and ASEAN M
Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 September 2026, held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Zhou Tian, Vice Minister of Emergency Management of the People’s Republic of China, in Nanning, China, on the sidelines of 23rd China-ASEAN Expo.
The two sides discussed the development
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 September 2026, delivered opening remarks at the 23rd China–ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning, China. Dr. Kao highlighted the depth of ASEAN–China economic relations and underscored the importance of fully leveraging ACFTA 3.0 to cultivate new
