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 met with Mr. John Luo, Chairman of International Business Digital Technology (IBDT), at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, where they discussed the proposed “Hong Kong Forum on ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA): Foresight
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received the Governor of the Banco Central de Timor-Leste (BCTL), H.E. Hélder Lopes, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. During the meeting, they exchanged views on advancing ASEAN’s priorities on regional financial integration, paym
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Special Envoy for Climate Change of the People’s Republic of China, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. During the meeting, Dr. Kao expressed appreciation for China’s continued support to ASEAN&
Secretary General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with H.E. Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. Both sides discussed ways to strengthen ASEAN-China cooperation through smart and sustainable urban development. The Meet
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this morning received a telephone call from Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, H.E. Roberto Velasco. This engagement provided an opportunity for Secretary Velasco to introduce himself as the newly-appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico a
At the invitation of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia, Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will lead the ASEAN Secretariat’s delegation to participate in the 2026 ASEAN-China Ministerial Roundtable on Construction and Housing (ACMROCH), to be held in Ipoh, Malays
The ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) 11+1 Sessions with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (US), were
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered pre-recorded remarks at the UK-ASEAN Renewable Energy and Interconnection Symposium, held in Jakarta, on 29 July 2026. In his remarks, Dr. Kao highlighted the growing ASEAN-UK partnership in supporting ASEAN’s energy transition throug
JAKARTA, 29 July 2026 – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened the AICHR Consultation on Human Rights Index 2026 in Tangerang, Indonesia. The consultation brought together AICHR Representatives, ASEAN Member States, national human rights institutions, internation
Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with regional media in an interface session as part of the 10th ASEAN Media Forum, in Manila, the Philippines. During this interactive session, Dr. Kao outlined ASEAN’s major milestones and key deliverables achieved under the PhilippinesR
