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, today delivered remarks at the Opening of the Exhibition on the Fifth Anniversary of the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, held at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. SG Dr. Kao welcomed the exhibition, which offers an excelle
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, H.E. Nararya S. Soeprapto, received the delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea, led by Acting Director-General for the Asia Affairs Division, Mr. Samson Yabon, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secre
The 20th Meeting of the ASEAN-Japan Joint Cooperation Committee was held today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. The Meeting acknowledged the substantive progress made in implementing the Implementation Plan of the Joint Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Trus
At the invitation of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 24 May 2026, delivered the Opening Remarks at the Inauguration Ceremony of the ASEAN-China Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Cent
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with H.E. Ke Jixin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China, on the sidelines of his participation in the Inauguration Ceremony of the ASEAN-China Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Ce
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today participated in the second day of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Suzhou, China, which focused on advancing cooperation on emerging economic and trade priorities, including digita
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today held a pull-aside meeting with Hon. Todd McClay, Minister for Trade and Investment of New Zealand, on the sidelines of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Suzhou, China. Both sides di
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh gave remarks at the opening of the ASEAN-India Bazaar 2026 in Jakarta, where he highlighted the strong momentum of ASEAN-India relations and the growing partnership across trade, investment, digital economy, connecti
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 22 May 2026, attended the Welcome Dinner of the 32nd APEC MRT Meeting, in Suzhou, China. The dinner brought together APEC Trade Ministers, senior representatives from across the APEC member economies, including members of APEC Business Advisory Coun
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with the Deputy Minister of International Trade of Canada, H.E. Glenn Purves, on the sidelines of the 32nd APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting, in Suzhou, China. Both sides discussed the ASEAN-Canada economic agenda and were en
