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 evening hosted a dinner for Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Principal Advisor, Mr. Michael Weiss, and Policy Advisor, Ms. Nicole Piechatzek, following his successful Working Visit to Germany, on 11-17 February 2026.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today sits down for an exclusive interview with Mr. Hamish Macdonald, the 2026 Australian recipient of the Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award.
SG Dr. Kao addressed ASEAN’s responses to the Middle East situation and its implications for r
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received the President & CEO of The Asia Foundation, Ms. Laurel Miller, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They discussed ASEAN’s recent collaborations with The Asia Foundation and exchanged views on how ASEAN and The Asia Foundat
The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) convened today in Manila. The Meeting, which comprises plenary and retreat sessions, continued to discuss the Philippines’ Chairship priorities and deliverables to advance ASEAN Community-building, including ways to strengthen ASEAN’s external rel
At the invitation of H.E. Frederick D. Go, Secretary of Finance of the Republic of the Philippines and H.E. Eli M. Remolona, Jr., Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will lead the ASEAN Secretariat delegation to participate in the 13th&n
JAKARTA, 2 April 2026 – A newly-appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to ASEAN, H.E. Barbara Szymanowska, today presented her Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, marking the assumption of her post as the Am
JAKARTA, 2 April 2026 – A newly-appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to ASEAN, H.E. Smiljana Knez, today presented her Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, marking the assumption of her post as the non-re
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Mr. Robert Floyd, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on recent developments in nuclear
ASEAN Secretariat staff successfully concluded a four-day Workshop on 2026 Workplace Communications: Effective Writing Skills, held from 30 March until 2 April 2026. The annual workshop was facilitated by the Civil Service College Singapore, as part of the Enhanced Technical Assistance Progra
The 24th ASEAN-Russia Joint Cooperation Committee (ARJCC) Meeting was held on 1 April 2026 at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to discuss progress in ASEAN-Russia cooperation, including the status of implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) to Implement the ASEAN-
