Who We Are

H.E. Kasmalati Dato Kassim graduated with B.A. in Economics from the Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom in 1996. H.E. joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) as a Diplomatic Officer in 1997 and went for her first posting to Berlin, Germany in 2002. H.E. was promoted to First Secretary after she completed her posting in 2007. Since then, H.E. was assigned to a number of departments in the MFA including the Department of International Organisations, the Department Politics II, Technical Assistance Division and the Department of Administration. H.E. had led the Administration Department with special focus on human resources management as both deputy director in 2016 and acting director in 2018 before her appointment as the Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to ASEAN. Her diplomatic experiences over two decades would provide invaluable insights to the work of ASEAN in peace and reconciliation.

H.E. Ambassador Yeap Samnang was born on 1 December 1979 in Pursat Province of Cambodia. He is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He also sits as the Representative of Cambodia to the Governing Council (GC) of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).

Prior to his current post, he was Deputy Director-General for ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and for Community and Corporate Affairs (CCA) from 2016 to 2019 at the General-Department of ASEAN (ASEAN-Cambodia), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia (MFA.IC). He has been appointed ? among others ? as Deputy Director, Head of Division of Administration and ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2015-2016); First Secretary at the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the Republic of Indonesia and Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN in Jakarta (2011-2015); and Deputy Director, Head of Division of ASEAN Political Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2010-2011). Before joining the MFA.IC in December 2004, he had been serving as a Desk Official at Bureau of Legislation and Copyrights at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia from 2002.

Besides, Ambassador Samnang has also working background with NGOs/SCOs, teams of students, youth activities and a researcher in Cambodia. He is awarded with a Master Degree of Social (M.Sos) in Diplomacy from Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a Diploma of High-Ranking Civil Servants, majoring in Diplomacy, from the Royal School of Administration in Phnom Penh. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Public Law from the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

He was decorated the Royal Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Commander in 2018.

Mrs. Artauli RMP Tobing is the Indonesian representative to the Governing Council of ASEAN-IPR. Previous to this, she was the Indonesian representative to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN-IPR from 2014-2017. She also served as the Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam from January 2004 until February 2008. She was awarded the “Medal for Friendship” from the Vietnam Union Friendship Organisation, Hanoi, Vietnam (6 February 2007).

After returning from Vietnam, she served as the Head of the Policy Planning Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.

After her retirement as a career diplomat Mrs. Tobing served as the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs, Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda from March 2011 until October 2014. Since 2014 Mrs. Tobing is also a lecturer for the graduate program on ASEAN Diplomacy at the Paramadina University and Pelita Harapan University.

She also served as the Eminent Person’s Group representing Indonesia to the Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2015.

Born in Jakarta, Mrs. Tobing earned a Degree in English Literature from the University of Indonesia in 1976 and later was awarded the Fulbright & Hayes Scholarship for her Masters degree in American Studies at the George Washington University in Washington DC from September 1976 – June 1978.

Mrs. Tobing started her career as a diplomat at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in 1981 and was posted at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva from August 1984-August 1988; and then later in the Indonesian Mission to the EU in Brussels from August 1992-August 1996. Then, from June 1999-July 2002, Mrs. Tobing was posted in the Indonesian Embassy in Ottawa.

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H.E. Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong has been appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to ASEAN since April 2018. He served as Deputy Director for External Relations Division in ASEAN Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR from 2004 to April 2009 before posting as Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Lao PDR to ASEAN in Jakarta from May 2008 to 2009. He was then appointed as Deputy Permanent Representative and First Secretary from 2009 to January 2012.

After completing his diplomatic mission in Jakarta, he was appointed as Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from February 2012-March 2018.

Ambassador Ekkaphab received his Master of Arts in International Relations at Flinders University in South Australia in 2002.

H.E. Ms. Kamsiah Kamaruddin is currently the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She also sits as the Representative of Malaysia to the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).

Previously, she was the Undersecretary for Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Malaysia. She has also served as – among others – Undersecretary for Europe (2017); Deputy Director-General for the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat (2016); Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of Malaysia in Singapore (2011); Principal Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia Division, MFA of Malaysia (2005); Second Secretary, Embassy of Malaysia in Bangkok (2001); Assistant Secretary, Public Diplomacy (1998) and Assistant Secretary, Policy Planning (1993) in the MFA of Malaysia.

H.E. Ms. Kamsiah Kamaruddin was born on 3 October 1967. She has a B.A. (Hons.) from University of Keele, United Kingdom and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management from the National Institute of Public Administration.

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H.E. U Aung Myo Myint was born on 26 July 1964 in Zalun Township of Ayeyawady Region. He currently sits as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to ASEAN. Prior, he was appointed as the Director-General to the Strategic and Training Department of Myanmar in September 2019. He attained his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 from Yangon University majoring in English before pursuing a Master Degree in Southeast Asia Studies in Tsubuka University, Japan in 2005.

H.E. U Aung Myo Myint began his political career in 1986 as an Attach in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, undertaking many diplomatic posts including in New Delhi (1991-1993) as Third Secretary; Kathmandu (1999-2003) as Second and later first Secretary; Beijing (2005-2008) as First Secretary and Counsellor, and Brussels (2011-2014) as Counsellor/Minister Counsellor. Following his tenure as Assistant Director of Political Department from 2003 to 2005, he has been appointed, among others, as Deputy Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2008-2011), Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2014-2016), Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department, and Deputy Permanent Representative/Minister of the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the UN in Geneva (2018-2019).

His extensive experience has granted him with three awards celebrating his contribution to civil service, namely the Law and Order Award (1994), the Civil Service Award (2006), and the Excellent Civil Service Award (2019).

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Ms. Kok Li Peng has been serving as Singapores Permanent Representative to ASEAN in Jakarta.

Ms. Kok graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, Second Class Honours, from the National University of Singapore in 1994.? She obtained a Masters in Arts (Political Science) from Columbia University in 2006, on a Fulbright Scholarship.

A career diplomat, Ms. Kok joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995. She has served as Ambassador in Manila from March 2015 to December 2018. Before her ambassadorial appointment, Ms. Kok served as Director-General in the ASEAN Directorate from 2012 to 2015. Her other overseas postings include Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, where she was Deputy Permanent Representative and Counsellor from 2008 to 2012, and Embassy of Singapore in Washington, D.C as a First Secretary from 1999 to 2002. Her other assignments in Ministry Headquarters include Deputy Director covering Malaysia and Brunei from 2006 to 2008 and Assistant Director covering Malaysia and Brunei and subsequently Assistant Director for Special Projects from 2002 to 2005.

Ms. Kok Li Peng was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2008. She was appointed to the NIE International Board in 2012.

Dr. Sukontasap has been appointed as Representative of Thailand to the Governing Council of ASEAN-IPR since 2017. He has extensive experience in working in the government and private sectors, as well as in the academic circle. He has served as head of the Cambodian Desk at the Foreign Ministry of Thailand in the final stages of the Cambodian Conflict, which resulted in the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1993. He was in charge of the ASEAN-SOM desk and was responsible for organizing the 1^st ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok in 1994. He also served at the United Nations in New York as assistant to the first Co-Chairs of the General Assembly Open-ended Working Group on the Reform of the UN Security Council, between 1995-1996.

In the private sector, Dr. Sukontasap currently serves as Chairman, Board of Directors, Vesak Capital Ventures Co. Ltd. (VCV). Prior to this, he served as Director, CEO and deputy CEO of a number of publicly listed companies in Thailand. Dr. Sukontasap specializes in Tax, Trade and Fiscal issues, with special focus on WTO and AFTA rules and regulations. He was also based in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Dr. Sukontasap received his B.A. in political science from Chulalongkorn University, Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy and Doctorate degrees from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Has also attended the Managing Global Business Program for Senior Executives at INSEAD, France. Dr. Sukontasap was a Fulbright, John E. Peurifoy and Manuel L. Quezon scholar. He is an advisor to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Legislative Assembly of Thailand. He is also a Director to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Exim Bank of Thailand. Most recently, he was the editor of a 260-page book entitled 50 Years of Thailand in ASEAN, published in May 2018.

He is married to Mrs. Ruyaporn Sukontasap, a diplomatic officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

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H.E. Tran Duc Binh joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam in 1994, when Viet Nam prepared for ASEAN membership in July 1995.

Mr. Binh was Head of the Political and Security Division of the ASEAN Department between 1999 and 2002. During Viet Nam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2000-2001, he was Chair of the ASEAN SOM Working Group on Political and Security Matters, and led the consultations between ASEAN and the P5 on the SEANWFZ Protocol.

Upon completing a tenure as Second Secretary in the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom from July 2002 to January 2006, he was appointed Assistant Director-General in October 2006 and then Deputy Director-General of the ASEAN Department in March 2008. Since 2006, Mr. Binh had been supervising ASEAN Relations with all Dialogue Partners, ASEAN-led processes such as ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). In the preparation for and during Viet Nams ASEAN Chairmanship in 2009-2010, he was Head of the Substantive Secretariat. During Viet Nam’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2010, he was working, among others, on the admission of the United States and Russian Federation into the East Asia Summit. During the 2009-2012 period, he was responsible for the overall ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, and the ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations during July 2012-July 2014 period.

Mr. Binh served as Consul-General of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Osaka, Japan, from July 2014 to November 2017. He was appointed Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to ASEAN, Jakarta in June 2018.

Mr. Binh’s research interests include ASEAN, East Asian integration, regional architecture, China, US. He has also served as resource person and contributed to the reports of the Eminent Persons Groups for ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-US, ASEAN-India Relations, and the East Asian Vision Group II.

Dato Lim Jock Hoi was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam since 2006.

During his tenure, he served as Brunei Darussalams Senior Official for the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar (SEOM), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting). He was a member of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) since 2001, serving as the HLTF-EI Chair in 2017. He was Brunei Darussalams Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), as well as for the P4, precursor to the TPP negotiations. Previously, he was also the Co-Chair during the negotiations for the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), and also served as Brunei Darussalams Chief Negotiator for the Brunei Darussalam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (BJEPA).

From June 2011-2017, he was the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). He was also on the External Advisory Board for the ASEAN 2030 Study being undertaken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He entered the Government Service as an education officer in 1977 and served as principal of a Secondary School from 1981-1985. From February 2001-July 2005, he was appointed as Director-General, International Relations and Trade Development, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. In September 2005, he was appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

He graduated from the City of London Polytechnic in B.Sc (Hons) Economics in 1976 and received his Post Graduate Certificate of Education in 1977.

He was awarded The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, second Class (D.P.M.B) in 2007. He is married with two sons.