U.S. Private Sector Engages with ASEAN Secretariat Leadership to Address Current Geopolitical and Socio-Economic Challenges

(Jakarta) – On May 26, the US-ASEAN Business Council (the Council) held its annual ASEAN Business Mission to the headquarters of ASEAN in Jakarta. The Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, accompanied by H.E. Michael Tene, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community and H.E. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, received the Council’s delegation at the ASEAN Secretariat, comprising ten U.S. companies that represent healthcare, ICT, energy, and safety science industries.

This year’s Mission aimed to position the U. S. business community as a thought leader, key resource, and partner for ASEAN in advancing regional integration. The Mission focused on three themes: reinforcing intra-ASEAN trade; offering support for developing the carbon neutrality strategy; and strengthening the ASEAN regional health architecture. In addition to the meeting with ASEAN Secretariat leadership, the delegation also met with the Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy, Dr. Nuki Agya Utama, U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN, the Honorable Yohannes Abraham and the Alternate Chair for ASEAN Business Advisory Council Indonesia, Mr. Bernardino Vega. The delegation also had extensive discussion with the officials from the ASEAN Economic Community Department of the ASEAN Secretariat on various digital and green transformation initiatives in ASEAN.

During the meeting with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the Council reaffirmed its support and appreciated the longstanding partnership that the ASEAN Secretariat has offered to the Council. The Council and its members are committed to accelerating the region’s growth and deepening the U.S.-ASEAN dialogue relationship under the leadership of SG Dr. Kao Kim Hourn.

“Engaging with the ASEAN Secretariat is very important to the Council as we continue to expand our focuses to various emerging sectors towards building a more integrated digital economy and green economy ecosystem in ASEAN, as well as advancing a resilient supply chain and trade ecosystem,” said Ambassador Michalak. “In this regard, I would like to underscore the increasing interest among the U.S. business community to engage with the ASEAN Environment Ministers (AMME) and ASEAN Health Ministers (AHMM) to explore areas for improvement and cooperation, building on the good work we have established with the Ministers responsible for Trade, Finance, ICT, Energy, Travel & Tourism that we have been engaging for years to strengthen the ASEAN Economic Community,” he emphasized.

The Council’s engagement with the ASEAN Secretariat has been the cornerstone of its expanding participation in various ASEAN Ministerial Meetings. In 2023, the Council has participated in the meetings of ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ASEAN Tourism Ministers, ASEAN Digital Ministers, and ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity, and will be participating in the upcoming ASEAN Economic Ministers, ASEAN Agriculture & Forestry Ministers, ASEAN Energy Ministers, and ASEAN Transport Ministers.

US-ABC member companies participating in the mission include Abbott, AWS, ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, LinkedIn, MSD, Oracle, UL Solutions, Viatris, and Zuellig Pharma.