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, this morning participated in the Opening Session of the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2026 held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, with the theme of the AFF this year as “Shaping Our Future Together: Peace, Prosperity and People-Centred.” In his remarks, Dr. Kao high
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered pre-recorded remarks at the Grand Opening of the ASEAN City Leaders Conference held on 8 June 2026, in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. In his remarks, Dr. Kao reiterated the importance of people-centric urban governance through multi-level and multi-stakeh
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered the Opening Keynote and participated in the Opening Plenary on “Steering Global Transition from the Heart of ASEAN” at the 18th Annual Research Conference of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) held in Asia for t
The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) convened today in Manila, the Philippines. The Meeting discussed ASEAN Community-building efforts, ASEAN’s external relations, and preparations for the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Post-Ministerial Conferences and related Meetings, with a vi
At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, H.E. Le Hoai Trung, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will participate in the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2026, to be held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, on 8-9 June 2026, whereby SG Dr. Kao will deliver rem
At the invitation of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS), Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will participate in the 18th Annual Research Conference by the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) to be held on 8 June 2026, at the Nanyang Busines
JAKARTA, 5 June 2026 – The 79th Meeting of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Task Force was convened today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The Meeting was chaired by Noy Choumneanh, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN and Chair of the IAI
JAKARTA, 5 June 2026 – the ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership (HSP) programme announced the first recipients of its grants and peer exchange awards in Jakarta. The grants are designed to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based policy and practice, while the peer exchanges will facilita
JAKARTA, 4 June 2026 – Ambassador Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Bandouq AlQamzi presented his Letter of Credence as the first dedicated Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to ASEAN to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today.
Sec
PHNOM PENH, 4 JUNE 2026 – The Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the ASEAN Directors-General of Customs concluded today in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The three-day meeting took place on 2–4 June.
The meeting was officially opened by H.E. Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Econom
