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, delivered a video message at the ASEAN-Japan Young Women Entrepreneurs’ Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 13 February 2025. Dr. Kao encouraged women entrepreneurs to embrace innovation, digitalisation and sustainable business practices in th
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered a pre-recorded message on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the launch of the ASEAN-United States (U.S.) Center. He commended the ASEAN-U.S. Center’s important role and proactiveness in contributing to the enhancement of the
Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn delivered keynote remarks during the opening session of the 8th ASEAN Media Forum in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Since its inception in 2017, the annual forum has provided a vital platform for meaningful dialogue between ASEAN policymakers and media leaders, fos
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered pre-recorded remarks at the ASEAN-Henan Cooperation Conference on Food and Agriculture: Empowered by New Quality Product Forces to Contribute to Regional Development through Mutually Beneficial and Win-Win Cooperation, which was convene
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today delivered pre-recorded keynote speech at the Opening Session of the Senior Executive Programme in Disaster Management (SEPDM) 2024, held in Singapore. The SEPDM is an annual flagship capacity building programme of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered pre-recorded keynote remarks at the opening of the 2024 ASEAN+3 HRD Forum, with the theme “Empowering the Workforce for Sustainable Future.” The Forum was hosted and organised by the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MOEL) of the
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered a pre-recorded special address during the 8th Roundtable of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT), which was held in Singapore, on 7 November 2024. In his remarks, Dr. Kao highlighted the importance of deepening ASEAN-India partnership a
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, yesterday delivered pre-recorded remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the World Internet of Things Convention (WIOTC), in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. In his remarks, Dr. Kao underscored that the rapid adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT),
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered remarks via video message at the 8th High-Level Brainstorming Dialogue on Enhancing Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLBD), in Bangkok, Thailand, on 31 October 2024.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today addressed the Opening Ceremony of the 6th ASEAN-Japan Smart Cities Network High-Level Meeting, held in Tokyo, Japan, via pre-recorded video remarks.
In his remarks, Dr. Kao emphasised the growing importance of promoting the green transfor
