(Washington, DC) The US-ASEAN Business Council wrapped up its annual US Ambassadors Tour tonight with a gala dinner for more than 300 Washington government officials, current diplomatic community, business leaders, scholars and former diplomats. The dinner featured a keynote speech by United States Senator Christopher S “Kit” Bond (R-MO), and remarks by US Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin. (“ASEAN” stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
The Tour kicked off on May 15 with a stop in San Diego, CA. Between San Diego and Washington DC, the delegation of US Ambassadors and their Senior Commercial Officers (SCOs) conducted a rigorous nation-wide schedule, including stops in Las Vegas, Houston, Memphis and Baltimore. Participating American Ambassadors to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam met in each Tour city with scores of local businesses, government officials, academia, and media to share with them perspectives on the region.
The 2005 Tour was made possible by National Sponsors ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, FedEx Express, Harrah's and QUALCOMM, five icons of American enterprise that have enhanced prosperity at home by operations throughout the world.
Since 1992, the U.S. Ambassadors Tour has visited more than 30 major American cities to educate businesses, public officials, students and academics, the media, and the public at large about business opportunities and the business and economic environment in ASEAN. In that period, the Ambassadors and Senior Commercial Officers have met with and provided information and assistance to thousands of small, medium, and large U.S. companies seeking trade and commercial opportunities in the ASEAN region.