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Vietnam Update | March 21, 2019
Authors: Riley Smith, Hai Pham and David Mineo
LOOKING AHEAD
April 10-11: Food & Agriculture Industry Mission to Vietnam
Thailand Update | March 20, 2019
Authors: Riley Smith, Ella Duangkaew, David Mineo
LOOKING AHEAD
March 26/27: Thailand Committee Call feat. Chargé d’affaires Peter Haymond
WASHINGTON - The results of several key elections in Asia this year will determine whether negotiations over an Asean-led mega trade pact can be wrapped up this year, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing on Wednesday (March 20).
Australia, India, Indonesia and Thailand, which form a quarter of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership’s (RCEP) 16 members, are due to hold national elections from March to May.
“All these elections will be done by May, and then we will have clearer sight of the political will by new or existing governments to complete the task ahead. The gaps are narrowing and we have a fair chance of getting it done by this year,” Mr Chan told more than 50 business leaders and diplomats at a lunch event in Washington DC, where he is on an official visit until Thursday.
(Jakarta) – On March 20, the Council convened the Post-ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting Roadshow, which was attended by Indonesian government officials and stakeholders, and six major U.S. infrastructure companies. As an integral continuity of the 2018 Business Mission, the themes for the Roadshow are High-Quality Infrastructure and Safety. The inaugural Roadshow is a follow-up to the Council-led Business Mission to the 24th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting in November 2018, where U.S.
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the US-ASEAN Business Council was pleased to host Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, H.E. Chan Chun Sing for a luncheon to discuss Singapore’s view on the future of trade in the world’s most dynamic economic region, ASEAN, and leadership on major trade agreements, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
(Manila) – The US-ASEAN Business Council convened an inaugural Post-ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting Roadshow, starting in Manila, as a follow-up to the Council-led business mission to the 24th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting in November 2018, where U.S. companies officially participated in and engaged with the ASEAN Ministers of Transport and Senior Transport Officials on priority infrastructure issues. The roadshow continued the 2018 Business Mission themes of High-Quality Infrastructure and Safety.
(Washington, D.C.) The Board of Directors, members and staff of the US-ASEAN Business Council offer their sincere condolences to the Plasai family, the Royal Thai Government, and the people of the Kingdom of Thailand on the passing of H.E. Virachai Plasai, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the United States. Ambassador Virachai passed on March 16, at age 58, after a battle with a myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of bone-marrow cancer.
The legislator made the remarks at a reception for a USABC delegation, including representatives of 40 leading US businesses and groups – including Microsoft, Google, GE, and FedEx – in Hanoi on March 14.
Hien welcomed the USABC delegation’s visit, which, he said, is taking place in the context of fruitful development of the Vietnam-US comprehensive cooperation, with rapid progress made in economic ties.
He spoke highly of the great contributions by US enterprises to Vietnam’s economy throughout the past.
Vietnam has conducted reforms and pursued a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, and international integration.
NDO/VNA – The Vietnamese Government will create optimal conditions for US enterprises to invest successfully in Vietnam and is willing to listen to their recommendations to improve the local business environment, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
While receiving a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), led by its President and CEO Alexander Feldman, in Hanoi on March 14, PM Phuc expressed his belief that the delegation’s visit will contribute to promoting economic, trade, and investment relations between Vietnam and the US.
He recalled his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on the occasion of the second DPRK-US summit in Hanoi in February, during which the two sides agreed on a number of measures to enhance bilateral relations across all fields.
The Philippines, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the United States are situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire making them vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis which historically have claimed more lives than weather related hazards like typhoons and flooding.
Manila, Tokyo, Taipei, and San Francisco are among the mega cities that lie along the ring.
The Philippines has only one megacity which serves as both the national economic and political center. The Greater Manila Area is exposed to several active faults, although the Marikina Valley fault system, particularly its western branch, is expected to have the severest impact on lives and property as it cuts through the Metro Manila area.