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, delivered a pre-recorded keynote speech at the ASEAN Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Traffic Management (STM) Seminar held on 12 March 2026 in Manila, the Philippines, jointly hosted by the Philippine Space Agency, Thailand’s Geo-Informat
JAKARTA, 12 March 2026 – The 78th Meeting of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Task Force was convened today at the ASEAN Secretariat/ASEAN Headquarters. Chaired by Noy Choumneanh, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN and Chair of the IAI Task Force 2026, the meet
JAKARTA, 11 March 2026 – The newly-appointed Ambassador Bernardo de Sicart Escoda presented his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, marking the official assumption of his post as the Ambassador of
JAKARTA, 11 March 2026 – ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK) reaffirmed their commitment to continue advancing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) at the 13th Meeting of the ASEAN-ROK Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), held today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today engaged in an interview with RT in Jakarta to reflect on the current geopolitical developments. During the media interview, SG Dr. Kao touched upon maintaining ASEAN’s principled neutrality and independent decision-making amidst shifting global
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
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this evening attended a working dinner hosted by Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN, H.E. Wang Qing. Both sides took the opportunity to exchange views on the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), including the comm
JAKARTA, 10 March 2026 – The newly-appointed Ambassador Clifford Borg-Marks presented his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, marking the assumption of his post as the first Ambassador of the Republi
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Ambassador of Uruguay to ASEAN, H.E. Cristina González, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They exchanged views on enhancing ASEAN-Uruguay cooperation and on Uruguay’s interest to accede to the Regional C
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today held a virtual meeting with Secretary-General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), H.E. Ambassador Juan Carlos Ojeda Viglione. They exchanged views on matters related to Nuclear Weapon
