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 the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (MISTI) of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will participate and deliver remarks at the Closing Ceremony of the ASEAN NEXT 2025, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 4 December 2025. This
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today had a meeting with the Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, H.E. Ambassador Natércia Cipriano Coelho da Silva, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They exchanged views on ASEAN’s priority age
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered congratulatory remarks at the 2025 ASEAN-ROK Financial Cooperation Forum held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In his remarks, Dr. Kao underscored the importance of ASEAN and the Republic of Korea’s steadfast collaboration to advance financial
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community, H.E. Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz, received a courtesy call by Mr. Fu Zitang, Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), along with a Chinese delegation on human rights studies, at the ASEAN Headquart
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today had a meeting with the Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to ASEAN, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Ton Thi Ngoc Huong, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They discussed, among others, preparation for the
At the invitation of Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will participate in the Cyberjaya Conversation Summit 2025 to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 3 December 2025. He will deliver a special address titled “Achiev
On the occasion of his Working Visit to the Republic of the Philippines, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, attended a dinner hosted by Hon. Ana Marie L. Hernando, Director-General of the ASEAN-Philippines National Secretariat, Department of Foreign Affairs. They discussed a wide range
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Mr. Jose Ma. “Joey” A. Concepcion III, Chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) 2026, in Manila, the Philippines, to discuss preparations for the Philippines’ ASEAN-BAC Chairmanship. Dr. Kao emphasised ASEAN-BAC
Following their bilateral meeting, Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn joined H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, for a luncheon where they continued discussions on the Philippines’ priorities as incoming ASEAN Chair in 2026 and reaffirmed commitm
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, H.E. Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, in Manila, during his working visit to the Republic of the Philippines. The meeting focused on ways to advance ASEAN’s priorities under the AS
