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.

The US-ASEAN Business Council met with Indonesia President Joko Widodo during its Annual Indonesia Business Mission on March 13 at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. The delegation of 41 US companies was co-led by Alexander C. Feldman, President & CEO of the Council, Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, Council's Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director, and the Chair of the Council's Indonesia Committee Madhusudan Gopalan, President Director of P&G Indonesia.

On March 7, the US-ASEAN Business Council met with Philippine Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez III during its annual Philippines Business Mission in Manila. The delegation of 23 U.S. companies was co-led by Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, the Council's Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director, and Mr. Marc Mealy, the Council's Vice President for Policy.

The Council held its annual ASEAN Secretariat Business Mission in Jakarta, with 12 leading U.S. companies engaging top officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, including recently-appointed Secretary-General H.E. Lim Jock Hoi, to further develop longstanding commercial ties with the region. The Mission was co-led by Alex Feldman, the Council’s President & CEO; Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, the Council’s Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director; and Chair of the Council’s ASEAN Committee, Archawat Chareonsilp, ASEAN Public Affairs and Communications Director of the Coca-Cola Company.