President's Newsletter

Dear Members, 

Dear Members,

I hope you are enjoying the holidays and getting some down time with family and friends.   I want to take this opportunity on behalf of the Council and our staff to wish each and everyone a very Happy New Year.  May 2019 be a year full of good health, happiness and prosperity for you, your family and your organization. 

President’s Newsletter – October 2018

Dear Members,

Greetings from Washington.  Fall has arrived in the nation’s capital and with it the cool weather.

The change in seasons, however, has not deterred Washington from keeping its focus on ASEAN.  Both Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin and Secretary of Defense Mattis have traveled to the region in the last two weeks.  Secretary Mnuchin attended the World Bank-IMF Fall Meetings in Bali, Indonesia while Secretary Mattis visited Vietnam on his way to the ASEAN Ministers of Defense Meeting Plus in Singapore.  This continued engagement is a clear indication of the Trump Administration’s commitment to ASEAN Centrality and the IndoPacific Policy. 

Dear Members,

Greetings from Vientiane where we just wrapped up Day One of our annual Business Mission to Laos.  Earlier this week, we also completed our annual Business Mission to Singapore.

In Singapore, our Business Mission gave us a chance to meet with the fourth generation Ministerial leadership.  During the course of the year and through our most recent business mission, we have now been able to meet with the three Ministers who are in the running to become Singapore’s next Prime Minister, including H.E. Heng Swee Keat, H.E. Ong Ye Kung and H.E. Chan Chun Sing.  Each was impressive in his own right, and I am confident that Singapore will be in good hands no matter which of these Ministers ultimately succeeds Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sometime in the coming years.