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, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Brunei Darussalam became a Member State of ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. Timor-Leste became the 11th Member State of ASEAN on 26 October 2025, following the formalisation of its accession at the opening ceremony of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This marked ASEAN’s first enlargement since Cambodia’s admission in 1999.

ASEAN AIMS AND PURPOSES

As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:

• accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
• promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
• provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
• collaborate more effectively to encourage further growth in the agriculture and industry, and trade sectors. This includes improving transportation and communications facilities and conducting studies on international commodity trade with the overarching goal of raising the living standards of ASEAN peoples;
• promote Southeast Asian studies; and
• maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

For more information about ASEAN, please visit: About ASEAN