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
H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines and Chair of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) 2026, will undertake an official visit to the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, on 22 April 2026. During the visit, Secretary Lazaro will meet wi
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today participated in the Second Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) on the Situation in the Middle East, which was held via videoconference and chaired by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, fo
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today led the ASEAN Secretariat’s delegation to participate in the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting (AFMGM) – International Financial Institutions (IFIs) held today via videoconference.
The Meeting exchanged view
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today attended the 30th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM) via videoconference.
Chaired by H.E. Frederick D. Go, Secretary of Finance of the Republic of the Philippines, the ASEAN Finance Ministers discussed the progress of ASEAN Finance
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today attended the interface meeting between the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC), via video conference.
The Meeting exchanged views on building robust public- priv
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today joined the interface meeting between the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM) and the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC), via video conference. The Meeting discussed ways to foster collaboration between public and private
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today attended the interface meeting between the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), via video conference.
The Meeting discussed various initiatives to strengthen partnerships w
JAKARTA, 8 April 2026 – H.E. Francisco de la Torre Galindo today presented his Letter of Credence as Ambassador of the United Mexican States to ASEAN, to the Secretary‑General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat.
Secretary‑General Dr. Kao congratula
Jakarta, 8 April 2026 – H.E. Elisa Maria da Silva today presented her Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, formally commencing her tenure as the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with H.E. Sugiono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta. During the meeting, they exchanged views on recent regional developments, including preparations for the upcoming sec
