US-ASEAN Business Council Organizes ICT Industry Mission to the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) Meeting
(Hanoi, Vietnam) – From January 13 to January 16, 2026, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) led a delegation of senior executives from 18 prominent U.S. companies to the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The delegation was co-led by Mario Masaya, Vice President of Research, Technology, and Financial Services of USABC, and USABC ICT Committee Chair Harish Krishnan, Managing Director, Government Affairs, South Asia and Southeast Asia, Cisco Systems. The Mission was held back-to-back with the Council’s Digital Economy Mission to Vietnam 2026, which took place from January 12 to 14 in Hanoi.
The mission provided a valuable platform for U.S. industry leaders to engage with senior government officials, highlighting U.S. industry insights on key digital issues and sharing how the private sector can offer tangible support to help advance the 6th ADGMIN’s theme, “ASEAN Adaptive: From Infrastructure Connectivity to Intelligent Connectivity.” These insights were highlighted during the ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADGSOM) with the U.S., ADGMIN Meeting with the U.S., and USABC’s working luncheon for ministers and senior officials, featuring keynote remarks by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN; and Mr. Russ Headlee, Senior Bureau Official, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.
During the Mission, the USABC delegation hosted eight bilateral engagements, and USABC presented its 2026 ICT priorities at the ADGSOM and ADGMIN Meetings with the U.S. The delegation held productive engagements with several ASEAN Digital Ministers and senior officials, including H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN; Secretary General YBhg. Tuan Fabian Bigar, Malaysia Ministry of Digital; Undersecretary Christina Condez-De Sagon, the Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology; Deputy Secretary General Air Vice-Marshall Amorn Chomchoey, Thailand National Cyber Security Agency; Assistant Chief Executive Timothy Chin, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore; Director Ichwan Makmur Nasution, Indonesia, Center of International Affairs, Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs. The delegation also engaged with the U.S. Government delegation, led by Senior Bureau Official Russ Headlee, and interacted with Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services Bill Guidera, performing the non-exclusive duties of the Assistant Secretary for Industry & Analysis. Throughout these engagements, USABC members reaffirmed U.S. industry’s position as trusted partners, particularly in the areas of responsible artificial intelligence (AI) development and adoption, cybersecurity and scam mitigation, data governance, digital trade, and digital infrastructure. USABC also welcomed ADGSOM’s endorsement of the “Public-Private Partnership Principles to Tackle Online Scams" and looks forward to supporting its implementation in 2026.
“USABC values its enduring collaboration and dialogue with ASEAN Member States on key digital economy issues, highlighted by our growing number of capacity-building engagements and dialogues in the region and in Washington, DC,” stated Vice President Mario Masaya of the USABC. “U.S. industry underscores the importance of public-private cooperation and robust digital economic growth via high-standard frameworks, resilient digital systems and infrastructure, and equitable adoption.”
"Digital technologies, including AI, cybersecurity and connectivity, are essential for the economic growth and resiliency of ASEAN countries. The dialogue between ASEAN Digital Ministers and U.S. companies is invaluable to ensure these technologies are innovatively and effectively implemented to strengthen ASEAN’s broader economy,” said Managing Director Harish Krishnan of Cisco Systems, Chair of USABC’s ICT Committee. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration in capacity building and policy dialogues with ASEAN member states in the coming year to achieve impactful outcomes for the region.”
USABC’s ongoing efforts were recognized in the 6th ADGMIN Joint Media Statement. Companies and organizations participating in the mission include Access Partnership, Akamai Technologies, Amazon, Bitdeer, BowerGroupAsia, Cisco Systems, Crowell Global Advisors, IBM, Information Technology Industry Council, Intel, Meta, Mastercard, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Qualcomm Inc., Salesforce and The Asia Group.