Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Singapore was one of the founding members of ASEAN when it was established in 1967. ASEAN was established to promote peace and understanding in the Southeast Asian region, as well as to foster economic collaboration, social progress and cultural understanding. Today, Singapore remains deeply committed to these causes and continues to foster close ties with our ASEAN counterparts.

ASEAN and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) are the cornerstones of Singapore’s foreign economic policy. The AEC 2015 is the realisation of regional economic integration among the 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS), which includes the free flow of trade and investment in the region, making it easier to do business here. ASEAN has since embarked on the next phase of regional economic integration under the AEC Blueprint 2025, which continues to be a vehicle for furthering the ambitions of our businesses and expanding their global reach.

Singapore participates actively in the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting and its related meetings to direct ASEAN economic co-operation. Singapore also took on the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018, working with ASEAN and our external partners to forge a Resilient and Innovative ASEAN.