ASEAN secretary general explores new horizons of cooperation with Morocco

Tuesday 24 June 2025 - 15:05

By: Zahouani Ilham

ASEAN secretary general explores new horizons of cooperation with Morocco

The Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Kao Kim Hourn, is currently on an official visit to Morocco from June 24 to 26, accompanied by a high-level delegation.

This visit, which takes place at the invitation of Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, marks Kao Kim Hourn’s first official trip to both Morocco and the African continent.

ASEAN, a regional organization that promotes economic, political, and cultural cooperation, includes ten Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei.

As the world’s fifth-largest economic bloc and the second-largest in Asia, ASEAN encompasses a market of over 677 million people and a GDP of $3.786 trillion. It maintains a stable annual growth rate of 5 percent and established its unified market through an agreement signed on December 31, 2015.

Morocco joined ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2016 and was granted the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner in September 2023.

This designation has enabled both parties to pursue a long-term, multifaceted partnership grounded in actionable and strategic cooperation initiatives.

Morocco has also expressed its willingness to share its expertise with ASEAN to support the bloc’s priorities in strengthening its political, security, economic, social, and cultural frameworks.

Furthermore, Morocco has been expanding its presence in Southeast Asian regional institutions. It became a partner of the Mekong River Commission in 2017, gained observer status in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly through its House of Representatives in 2020, and was recognized as an “Associate Member” of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization in 2021.