The Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is an

intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication technologies to facilitate international cultural and economic exchange. ...

of the eleven

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n countries, which was formed on 30 November 1965 by the

Kingdom of Laos The Kingdom of Laos was the form of government in Laos from 1947 to 1975. Located in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, it was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the sou ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and the then

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...

. SEAMEO aims to promote regional cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture. The current SEAMEO President is

Sonny Angara Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Manalang Angara (; born July 15, 1972) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who has served as the 37th Secretary of Education (Philippines), secretary of education since 2024. He has concurrently served as chairman of the ...

of the

Membership

SEAMEO consists of 11 Member Countries, 6 Associate Members, and 8 Affiliate Members.

Member Countries

# Brunei # Cambodia # Indonesia # Lao PDR # Malaysia # Myanmar # Philippines # Singapore # Thailand # Timor-Leste # Vietnam

Associate Members Countries

# Australia # Canada # France # Germany # Morocco # Netherlands # New Zealand # Spain # United Kingdom

Affiliate Members

# Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) # British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE) #

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

# China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) #

International Council for Open and Distance Education The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) is a membership-led global organization in the field of Educational technology, online, Open education, open and technology enhanced education. It consists of more than 200 higher ...

(ICDE) # Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) #

The Education University of Hong Kong The Education University of Hong KongUniversity titl ...

University of Tsukuba is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. The university has 28 college clusters and schools with around 16,500 students (as of 2014). The main Tsukuba ca ...

SEAMEO Council

As of 2025, the members of the SEAMEO Council is as follows: * ''President'':

* ''Vice President'': Romaizah Mohd Salleh * ''Member'': Hangchuon Naron * ''Member'':

Abdul Mu'ti Abdul Mu'ti (born 2 September 1968) is an Indonesian academic and politician serving as Minister of Primary and Secondary Education since 2024. In 2022, he was elected secretary general of the Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah (), officially Muhammad ...

* ''Member'': Phout Simmalavong * ''Member'':

Fadhlina Sidek Fadhlina binti Sidek (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; born 16 October 1977) is a Malaysians, Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Education (Malaysia), Minister of Education in the Unity Government administration under Prime ...

* ''Member'': Nyunt Phay * ''Member'':

Chan Chun Sing Chan Chun Sing ( zh, s=陈振声, p=Chén Zhènshēng, j=Can4 Zan3 Sing1, first=j; born 9 October 1969) is a Singaporean politician and former major-general who is serving as Minister for Defence in 2025 and Minister-in-charge of Public Serv ...

* ''Member'':

Permpoon Chidchob Permpoon Chidchob () is a Thai politician, serving as minister of education since 2023. He is the brother of Saksayam Chidchob Saksayam Chidchob (; born 9 November 1962) is a Thai politician. Former Minister of Transport in the second cabinet ...

* ''Member'':

Dulce de Jesus Soares Dulce de Jesus Soares is an East Timorese politician, and a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT). She is the incumbent Minister of Education, serving since July 2023 in the IX Constitutional Government of East Ti ...

* ''Member'': Nguyễn Kim Sơn

Events

SEAMEO organised the SEAMEO Mathematics Olympiad, a regional competition for young mathematicians.

Joint programs

In 2014 SEAMEO announced a joint program with the German Government called "Fit For School", the first phase running over 3 years will concentrate on basic hygiene of pre—school and primary school children, improving sanitation facilities and bringing hand-washing and tooth brushing into school. The Director of the Regional Centre for Community Education is

Niane Sivongxay Niane Sivongxay is a zoologist and herpetologist from Laos, who is Director of the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Regional Centre for Community Education Development and is Assistant Professor of Biology at the Natio ...

References

Supranational unions Supraorganizations Organizations established in 1965 Education in Southeast Asia {{international-org-stub