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
At the invitation of H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Chair of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) 2026 and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will lead the ASEAN Secretariat’s delegation to participate in the 59th &n
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, on 17 July 2026, attended the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), in Shanghai, China.
WAIC is a strategic platform to exchange perspectives on AI innovation, governance, and digital transformation,
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered the keynote speech at the 2026 ASEAN-ROK Regional Connectivity Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia. In his keynote speech, Dr. Kao highlighted that the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and the ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan must now be translated
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received a courtesy call from a delegation of the Philippine Foreign Service Institute (FSI), led by its Director-General Neil Frank R. Ferrer, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. SG Dr. Kao highlighted the important role of research ins
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received a delegation from the South Asia Regional Parliamentary Forum (SARPF) for Climate, Energy and Environment at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They exchanged views on regional cooperation in climate action, energy transition, cli
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today gave an interview to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) as part of the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the “ASEAN Declaration on One ASEAN One Response: ASEAN Responding t
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received Secretary-General of the ASEAN Korea Centre (AKC), Kim Jae-shin, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They discussed the role of the AKC in promoting ASEAN-Republic of Korea (ROK) cooperation. Dr. Kao encouraged the AKC to init
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received a courtesy call from the Chairman of CT Group, Tran Kim Chung, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. The courtesy call provided an opportunity for CT Group, a technology and innovation corporation from Viet Nam, to share its visio
At the invitation of the Chinese Government, Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn will lead the ASEAN Secretariat’s delegation to participate in the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, to be held in Shanghai, the People̵
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this evening met with the Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to ASEAN, H.E. Henrique Archanjo Ferraro, over a working dinner in Jakarta. Both sides exchanged views on ASEAN-Brazil relations and discussed preparations for Dr. Kao’s workin
