FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro yesterday met with the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to discuss Manila’s hosting of the regional bloc’s meetings and summit next year.
“I met with Asean Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Ministerial Meeting to discuss PH’s preparations for its 2026 Asean Chairship,” Lazaro said in a post on her official X account.
“We count on the Asean Secretariat’s support as we prepare for our upcoming Chairmanship to advance a people-oriented, people-centered and rules-based Asean,” Lazaro added.
Lazaro met with Hourn after the first day of the Ministerial Meeting, which focuses on advancing regional cooperation in key areas, including human rights, non-nuclear commitments, and global partnerships.
Manila will assume the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member ASEAN starting January 2026 and will host preparatory meetings, ministerial meetings, and summits where US President Donald Trump and leaders from Japan, and China, among others, are expected to attend.
The Philippines last hosted the ASEAN summit in 2017.
Aside from the Philippines and Malaysia, the other ASEAN member-states are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
Timor Leste has also applied to become the regional bloc’s newest member.
