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 together ASEAN Transport Ministers and other Heads of Delegation of the 31st ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) Meeting, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Myanmar, H.E. U Nyo Saw. The courtesy call was held prior to t
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with Minister for Trade and Investment of South Australia, Joe Szakacs MP, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. Both sides recalled their meeting in Adelaide, Australia, in August of this year, during SG Dr. Kao’s participation
JAKARTA, 18 November 2025 – Ambassador Veikko Kala presented his Letter of Credence to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, marking the assumption of his post as the Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to ASEAN, based i
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with the United Kingdom’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. During the meeting, Dr. Kao expressed his appreciation for the UK’s steadfast commitment to strengthening its p
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today participated in the European Union (EU) Heads of Missions Meeting as a Special Guest. The event was held at the Mission of the EU to ASEAN. SG Dr. Kao delivered remarks on the future direction of the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership ahead o
Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today warmly welcomed H.E. Dr. Chem Widhya, incoming ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Secretary General, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Dr. Kao congratulated Dr. Chem Widhya on his appointment and looked forward
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered a pre-recorded keynote speech at the Opening Session of the Senior Executive Programme in Disaster Management (SEPDM) 2025, held in Singapore. In his speech, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn underscored the importance of enhancing ASEAN’s collective
At the invitation of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, will lead the ASEAN Secretariat’s delegation to participate in the 31st ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) and its associated Meetings, to be held
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered pre-recorded opening remarks at the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) Forum 2025 with the theme “Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Indo-Pacific” held on 15 November 2025. The Forum is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today participated in the First ASEAN-Japan Law Ministers’ Meeting (ALAWMM + Japan) in Manila, Philippines, underscoring both sides’ strong commitment, at the high-level, in their cooperation and collaboration in the field of law and justice.
