ESTABLISHMENT OF ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam joined on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
The Five Foreign Ministers hailed as the Founding Fathers of ASEAN:
[L to R] Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Adam Malik of Indonesia, Thanat Khoman of Thailand, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia and S. Rajaratnam of Singapore.
The five Foreign Ministers signed the document known as the ASEAN Declaration.
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM IN ASEAN
Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN as its sixth member soon after the resumption of her full independence in January 1984. Present at the admission ceremony at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia was His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam. Since then, ASEAN has become the cornerstone of Brunei Darussalam's foreign policies. Through ASEAN, Brunei Darussalam participates in various other regional mechanisms including the ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam together with other ASEAN leaders signed the ASEAN Charter on 20 November 2007 in Singapore. Brunei Darussalam was the second Member State after Singapore to ratify the Charter on 31 January 2008.
Brunei Darussalam nationals who have served in the ASEAN secretariat included Dato Roderick Yong, ASEAN Secretary-General (1986 - 1989); Dato Haji Mahadi Wasli, Deputy Secretary-General (1994 - 1997); and Pengiran Dato Mashor Pg. Ahmad, Deputy Secretary-General (2003 - 2005); and currently Dato Lim Jock Hoi, ASEAN Secretary-General (January 2018 - December 2022).
