Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered opening remarks via video message at the GBA-ASEAN Conference on Trade, Finance & Sustainable Development held in Hong Kong, China, on 31 October–1 November 2025. The GBA–ASEAN Conference on Trade, Finance & Sustainable Development, organised by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong and the Institute for International Affairs Qianhai, aimed to deepen the Greater Bay Area (GBA) – ASEAN cooperation, foster sustainable development partnerships, and facilitate the discussions on strengthening trade, finance, and connectivity. As part of the Forum, the GBA-ASEAN Initiative (GAI) was formally launched on 31 October 2025. The Initiative aims to promote trade, financial, and infrastructure connectivity between the GBA and ASEAN, facilitate strategic business engagements and political dialogue, and conduct research to generate policy recommendations aligned with national development strategies of both China and ASEAN.
- ABOUT ASEAN
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, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.Menu - WHAT WE DO
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 SecretariatÂ
Menu - WHO WE WORK WITH
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.
Menu - OUR COMMUNITIES
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
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