Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered pre-recorded welcoming remarks at the Second Conference of the High Contracting Parties (HCPs) to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which was held today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat with the theme “Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Opportunities – Past, Present and Future.”  The Conference serves as a platform for the HCPs to the TAC to reaffirm their commitment to the principles of the TAC, discuss the implementation of the TAC and ways to enhance the relevance of the Treaty in the region and beyond, in light of its 50th anniversary in 2026. The Conference was presided over by the Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN, Ambassador Sarah Al Bakri Devadason, and attended by the HCPs to the TAC as represented by their Ambassadors accredited to ASEAN/Indonesia or their representatives and officials from their respective capitals, as well as representatives of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR). A panel session comprising of regional experts, including H.E. Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-at-Large of Singapore and H.E. Tiffany McDonald, Ambassador of Australia to ASEAN was convened in the afternoon. The session, moderated by Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community, Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz, discussed various aspects of the Treaty, including its role and relevance, as well as its contribution to regional peace and stability.