At the invitation of H.E. Ma. Christina A. Roque, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines and Chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting in 2026, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will lead the delegation of the ASEAN Secretariat to participate in the 58th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings, to be held in Manila, the Philippines, on 19-22 September 2026. The series of meetings will also include the 40th ASEAN Free Trade Area Council Meeting and the 29th ASEAN Investment Area Council Meeting, as well as AEM Consultations with various Dialogue Partners, ASEAN Business Advisory Council and other business councils, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). These Meetings provide opportunities for Ministers to discuss the latest global and regional economic developments with their implications for the future direction of ASEAN economic integration, the Priority Economic Deliverables for the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship in 2026, the implementation of Annual Priorities (APs) and Annual Milestone Deliverables (AMDs), and external economic relations. On the sidelines of these meetings, Dr. Kao is also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with Ministers and representatives of the business community from ASEAN and from external partners of ASEAN.
- ABOUT ASEAN
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.
Menu - WHAT WE DO
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
Menu - WHO WE WORK WITH
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.
Menu - OUR COMMUNITIES
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
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