On August 2, the Council and the ASEAN Committee in Washington co-hosted the 2018 ASEAN Ambassadors’ Golf Tournament at the Lake Presidential Golf Club in Maryland. In full spirit of good sportsmanship and camaraderie, ASEAN embassy representatives, along with Council members and staff partook in a game of 18 holes of golf.  Congratulations to the Bruneian Embassy Team on winning the championship cup!

The US-ASEAN Business Council concluded its business mission to the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting in Singapore, with 17 U.S. companies engaging key economic officials on regional and bilateral trade and investment issues. This year marks the Council’s 19th annual meeting with all ten ASEAN Economic Ministers. Ambassador Jeffrey Gerrish, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, led the consultation as part of the AEM-USTR Dialogue.

On July 31, the US-ASEAN Business Council organized a welcome luncheon in Washington, D.C. in honor of H.E. Ha Kim Ngoc, the new Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States. The luncheon also included remarks by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Ian Steff, who is also currently performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Global Markets.

On July 11, the Council met with the Chairman of the Office of the Government of Vietnam, H.E. Mai Tien Dung, as part of its 2018 Food & Agriculture Industry Mission to Vietnam. The delegation of nine companies, which is the largest Food & Agriculture Industry Mission to date, was led by Ambassador Michael Michalak, Council Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director, and Chair of the Council’s Food & Agriculture Committee Bruce Blakeman, Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Cargill.

The US-ASEAN Business Council met with H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of Thailand, during its annual Thailand Business Mission on June 28, 2018. The delegation of 38 companies was co-led by the Chairman of the Council’s Board of Directors, Keith Williams, President, CEO and Trustee of Underwriters Laboratories (UL); Alexander C. Feldman, President & CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council; Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council; and the Council’s Thailand Committee Chair, Brad Middleton, Managing Director, Chevron Asia South.

On June 5, the Council hosted a farewell luncheon in honor of H.E. Pham Quang Vinh, Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States, in Washington, D.C. Since his arrival at the end of 2014, the Council and Ambassador Vinh have worked closely to further develop the U.S.-Vietnam business relationship. Ambassador Vinh’s presence in Washington will be sorely missed and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors as he returns to Hanoi.

On May 31, the Council hosted a welcome luncheon in honor of the newly appointed Ambassador of Thailand to the United States, H.E. Virachai Plasai. The luncheon served as a unique opportunity to engage Ambassador Virachai at the very beginning of his tenure, and underscored the Council's dedication to strengthening the U.S.-Thailand relationship.

The US-ASEAN Business Council welcomed three featured speakers at our annual gala dinner: Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Industrial Competitiveness Jeffrey D. Gerrish (and now Acting President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States), Rep. Joaquin Castro, co-chair of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on ASEAN, and Rep. Ted Yoho, Chair of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The US-ASEAN Business Council met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during its annual Vietnam Business Mission on March 28, 2018. The delegation of 33 companies was co-led by Alexander C. Feldman, President & CEO of the Council; Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, Council Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director; and Chair of the Council’s Vietnam Committee Wouter Van Wersch, President & CEO of GE Asia Pacific.