Institutional Profile

Objective of the Organization:

To promote cooperation in economic, social, cultural, technical, educational, and other fields; and to ensure regional peace and stability within the framework of respect for justice, the rule of law, and the principles of the United Nations.

Year of Foundation: 1967

Headquarters: Jakarta

Secretary-General: Kao Kim Hourn (as of 1 January 2023)

Member States (11):

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste.

Dialogue Partner Countries and International Organizations (11):

The United States of America (USA), Canada, Russian Federation, People’s Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom (UK), and the European Union (EU).

Sectoral Dialogue Partners (8):

Türkiye, Switzerland, Norway, Pakistan, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Morocco.

History and Organizational Structure

The foundations of ASEAN were laid with a five-article declaration signed on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The Bangkok Declaration defined ASEAN’s objectives as “ensuring regional peace and stability through cooperation in economic, social, cultural, technical, educational, and other fields, within the framework of respect for justice, the rule of law, and the principles of the United Nations.”

In its early years, ASEAN focused primarily on mitigating regional conflicts and ensuring political stability. In the post–Cold War period, these priorities were superseded by efforts aimed at enhancing economic cooperation.

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), signed in 1976, and the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ), signed in 1995, transformed ASEAN into an organization with legally binding characteristics.

In the post–Cold War era, ASEAN has become one of the fundamental pillars of the region in both economic and security terms, while also playing an effective role in the development of regional stability and prosperity. Through conferences and mechanisms such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN+3 format (PRC, Japan, Republic of Korea), ASEAN acquired the status of a central regional platform in the context of increasing regional integration and dialogue.

The 11th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005 marked an important milestone in the Organization’s development. During the Summit, the “Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter” was signed, providing a legal and institutional framework for achieving ASEAN’s goals and objectives, and the “ASEAN Community,” based on three pillars—the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community—was also decided to be established.

The ASEAN Charter entered into force at the conclusion of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 15 December 2008, while the “ASEAN Community” and “ASEAN Vision 2025” documents entered into force within the framework of the 27th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur on 21 December 2015.

At the 46th ASEAN Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur on 26-27 May 2025 under the chairmanship of Malaysia, the declaration titled “ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Vision” outlined the Union’s strategic roadmap for the next 20 years and defined four pillars of activity: political-security, economy, socio-cultural cooperation, and connectivity and institutional capacity.

ASEAN Summits are held twice a year under the chairpersonship of the rotating ASEAN Chair, determined in alphabetical order. The most recent ASEAN Summit (47th Summit) was hosted by Malaysia on 26-28 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur. As of 1 January 2026, the Philippines has assumed the ASEAN Chairpersonship. The Chairpersonship theme has been designated as “Navigating Our Future Together”.

Türkiye–ASEAN Relations

Türkiye, officially initiated efforts to develop institutional relations with ASEAN in 1999 and, within this framework, declared her intention to become a dialogue or sectoral dialogue partner. Türkiye acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)—the first step in developing institutional relations with ASEAN—during the 43rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Vietnam on 19-23 July 2010. In the same year, Türkiye’s Embassy in Jakarta was accredited to ASEAN.

Türkiye has embassies in all ASEAN member states except Timor-Leste.

Full membership to ASEAN is restricted except for the countries of the South East Asia region. Moreover, a moratorium has been in place since 1996 on the acceptance of new Dialogue Partners, which represents an advanced institutional engagement with non-regional countries.

In order to sustain the momentum achieved in Türkiye-ASEAN relations while the moratorium is in place, the decision was taken to establish a Sectoral Dialogue Partnership (SDP) between Türkiye and ASEAN in 2017—when ASEAN’s 50th anniversary was celebrated—during the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, to which Türkiye participated as a guest of the Philippines.

ASEAN-Türkiye Trilateral Meeting constitute the highest-level dialogue mechanism within the framework of the SDP. It is held once a year on the margins of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, the Foreign Minister of the ASEAN Chair, and the ASEAN Secretary-General. This meeting provides an opportunity for a comprehensive exchange of views on the current state and future of relations between our country and the Association. The 7th ASEAN-Türkiye Trilateral Meeting was held on 11 July 2025.

Additionally, under the SDP, regional issues and potential areas of cooperation are discussed at technical level at ASEAN-Türkiye Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee (AT-JSCC) Meetings. These meetings are held annually in Jakarta since 2018 under the auspices of the ASEAN Secretariat. The 7th AT-JSCC Meeting was convened on 24 November 2025.

The “Practical Cooperation Areas” document, which serves as the action plan for the Türkiye-ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partnership, was updated in 2023 to cover the 2024-2028 period, defining the areas of cooperation with ASEAN. Cooperation is implemented through joint projects under the framework of the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership.

Türkiye’s application for Dialogue Partnership status—representing the next stage of our institutional relations with ASEAN—was officially submitted to the Secretariat in 2024. In the Chair’s Statement issued at the conclusion of the 47th ASEAN Summit stated that “[the members] agreed, in principle, to confer Dialogue Partnership upon Türkiye, subject to the finalisation of the review on the issue of the moratorium”.

Türkiye also continues to enhance cooperation with ASEAN-affiliated bodies.

Türkiye became an observer member of ASEANAPOL, the association of police forces of ASEAN member states, in 2014.

The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) has been an observer member of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) since 2023, and members of the TBMM AIPA Turkish Group regularly participate in AIPA meetings.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2024 between the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEİK) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC).

In 2025, Türkiye participated for the first time as an observer in the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), which includes ASEAN and East Asia Summit countries.

As an observer to ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) sub-working groups on “Humanitarian Mine Action” and “Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief” for the 2024-2027 period, Türkiye is represented at the ADMM+ platform by the Ministry of National Defence.

Efforts to further enhance engagement with ASEAN will continue to be a key priority of Türkiye’s Asia Anew Initiative.