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 convened the annual town hall meeting with staff members of the ASEAN Headquarters/ ASEAN Secretariat. Organised by the ASEAN Secretariat Staff Welfare Committee, the session provided a platform for an open dialogue between the Secretary-General
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation and SOM Leader of ASEAN-Indonesia, H.E. Ina H. Krisnamurthi, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They exchanged views on ASEAN Community-building and priorities for 2026 under the Philippin
JAKARTA, 21 January 2026 – His Excellency Ramil Rzayev presented his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, officially assuming his role as the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to ASEAN.
Secretary-
JAKARTA, 20 January 2026 – Ambassador Wang Qing presented his Letter of Credence as the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this afternoon at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat.
Secretary-General Dr. Kao co
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received a courtesy call from Secretary-General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), H.E. Kairat Sarybay, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. During the meeting, both Secretaries-General excha
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN and Chair of the CPR for 2026, H.E. Ambassador Evangeline T. Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq, marked a ceremonial moment in front of the newly installed logo of the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship for 2026,
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today attended a luncheon hosted by Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN and Chair of the CPR for 2026, H.E. Ambassador Evangeline T. Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq, together with the Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, at the ASEAN Headquart
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today received a visit from the President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Professor Tetsuya Watanabe, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, in Jakarta. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on E
The Opening Ceremony of the inaugural meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) in 2026 was held today, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ ASEAN Secretariat, following the Philippines’ official assumption of the ASEAN Chairship on 1 January 2026, under the theme Navigating Our
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this evening attended a working dinner hosted by Ambassador of Canada to ASEAN, H.E. Ambra Dickie, in Jakarta, Indonesia. They exchanged views on strengthening and deepening the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership, and discussed implementation of the ne
