Brunei envoy appointed as new ASEAN Secretary General

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at the conclusion of Philippine chairmanship for 2017, announced the appointment of Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, a diplomat from Brunei Darussalam as the new Secretary-General of ASEAN. (Photo By U.S. Department of State from United States, Public Domain)

MANILA — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at the conclusion of Philippine chairmanship for 2017, announced the appointment of Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, a diplomat from Brunei Darussalam as the new Secretary-General of ASEAN.

“We expressed our great appreciation for H.E. Le Luong Minh’s valuable contribution, in his capacity as Secretary-General of ASEAN, in advancing the work of ASEAN during his five-year term of ‎‎2013-2017,” the chairman’s statement for the 31st ASEAN Summit released on Thursday reads.

“We agreed to appoint H.E. Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi as the new Secretary-General of ASEAN from Brunei Darussalam for the next five-year term of ‎‎2018-2022,” it announced.

Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi is a permanent secretary at the Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Secretary-General of ASEAN is appointed by the ASEAN Summit for a non-renewable term of office of five years and is selected from among nationals of the ASEAN Member States based on alphabetical rotation.