The Asia Foundation President Meets ASEAN Secretary-General

JAKARTA, Indonesia – April 7, 2026 – The Asia Foundation’s President and CEO, Laurel Miller, met with ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn today at the ASEAN Secretariat for a courtesy meeting, marking the first formal leadership-level engagement between the institutions.

The meeting focused on shared priorities shaping Southeast Asia’s future, including the digital economy, cybersecurity, energy resilience, and youth leadership. They also reflected on the Secretary-General’s early connection with TAF during his career in Cambodia.

The engagement builds on TAF’s long-standing partnership with ASEAN, dating back to the 1980s and strengthened through direct institutional collaboration since 2018. Today, the international nonprofit works with approximately 20 ASEAN sectoral bodies and entities across all three community pillars—Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural-supporting ASEAN priorities through regionally coordinated, country-informed programs.

The collaboration spans maritime security and transnational crime, environmental cooperation, labor migration governance, the care economy, and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda – areas where regional coordination and sustained institutional support are critical to delivering impact at scale. This work reflects TAF’s flexible, responsive delivery model, grounded in a deep understanding of ASEAN systems and processes.

During the meeting, TAF also shared its Strategy 2030 , which reinforces its commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and supporting institutions such as ASEAN to advance dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collective action.

As ASEAN continues to play a central role in the region, TAF looks forward to deepening this partnership and contributing to a more secure, inclusive, and resilient Southeast Asia.

Photos from the meeting are available via ASEAN Secretariat website.