U.S. Ambassadors Promote Growing Ties Between United States and Southeast Asia

(Washington, D.C.) On June 23, the US-ASEAN Business Council wrapped up its U.S. Ambassadors’ Tour, a tradition which brings America’s top diplomats in Southeast Asia back to the United States to raise the profile of the dynamic Southeast Asia region and forge economic and people-to-people connections between U.S. business, government, academic leaders, and ASEAN markets. The Council has organized this annual program each year since 1990 prior to the global pandemic in 2020, and the 2023 Tour marks the first of its return. This year, the Tour featured U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Yohannes Abraham, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Brian McFeeters, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper.

The Tour kicked off on June 20 in San Francisco, CA. Over two busy days, the Ambassadors met with executives and representatives from Airbnb, Qualcomm, Google, the Bay Area Council, and the Asia Foundation. The delegation also organized an APEC-focused engagement with U.S. Senior Official for APEC Matt Murray and other key stakeholders; engaged Donald Emmerson and Ambassador Scot Marciel at Stanford University, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and met with San Francisco Mayor London Breed. ​ 

On June 22, the Ambassadors traveled to Seattle, WA. During this stop, the delegation met with executives from Amazon Web Services and Boeing, and held roundtables with representatives of the World Affairs Council and the Washington Council on International Trade. The Ambassadors also met with leaders from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, held a Public Discussion at the University of Washington, and met with Senior Deputy Mayor of Seattle Monisha Harrell. 

The 2023 U.S. Ambassadors’ Tour was generously supported by Boeing, Google, Airbnb, and Qualcomm.