Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered a pre-recorded keynote address at the 9th High-Level Dialogue on ASEAN-Italy Relations, held on 13 November 2025, where he highlighted ASEAN’s strong economic performance and resilience amid global challenges and called on ASEAN and Italy to deepen cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, digital economy, and the creative economy, having noted Italy’s global strength in these areas. He also encouraged closer public-private collaboration to advance shared prosperity under the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.