ASEAN Welcomes New Deputy Secretaries-General
IDXChannel - The Association of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has welcomed Dato Astanah Abdul Aziz as Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) for ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and Nararya S Soeprapto as DSG of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs (CCAD).
According to ASEAN\'s official website, the oath-taking ceremonies were held in Jakarta on 16 February and presided by Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn.
The ceremonies marked the official beginning of their respective three-year term as DSG, from 2024 to 2027.
Prior to assuming this new position, DSG Astanah served various appointments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia. Her most recent appointment was the Ambassador of Malaysia to Morocco, with the concurrent accreditation to Mauritania. She also served at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations (UN) in New York.
In her new role, she will support the Secretary-General of ASEAN in managing cooperation in political and security relations with Member States, ASEAN Dialogue Partners, Sectoral Dialogue Partners, Development Partner as well as the international and regional organisations. She will look after the implementation of the APSC Blueprint 2025 and will be leading the APSC Department at ASEC.
For DSG Nararya, he brings with him 29 years of experience across various sectors, including government, inter-governmental, private sector, and civil society. Prior to his appointment, he served as a strategic advisor for one of Southeast Asias leading strategic communications firms.
As DSG for CCAD, he will support the Secretary-General of ASEAN in providing strategic direction and guidance on corporate, legal, and public affairs as well as overseeing various administrative functions.
As stated in the ASEAN Charter, the Secretary General of ASEAN shall be assisted by four DSGs of different nationalities and shall come from four different ASEAN Member States. Two DSGs are nominated by the ASEAN Member States on a rotational basis for a non-renewable term of three years while two other DSGs are openly recruited based on merit for a three-year term which may be renewed for another three years. (WHY)
