“AmChams De Facto Ambassadors in the Region” Theme for 2023 George Drysdale and Shiumei Lin to Continue Serving as Vice Chairs
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SINGAPORE, March 22, 2023: AmChams of Asia Pacific, the umbrella organization of 25 American Chambers of Commerce, re-elected Steven Okun as Chair during its 2023 Annual Business Summit hosted in conjunction with the US Department of Commerce’s Trade Winds ASEAN, the largest annual U.S. trade mission and business development forum, becoming AAP’s first five-time Chair, having also served from 2012-15.
“US businesses working through their American Chambers of Commerce are de facto Ambassadors for United States engagement in the region,” said Steven Okun. “AmChams represent the economic engagement and values US companies bring with them as sustainable investors, employers and stakeholders.”
“We held a constructive dialogue with the AmChams of Asia Pacific at Trade Winds. I congratulate Steve and his team on another successful summit,” said the Honorable Marisa Lago, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. “We look forward to working with AAP and other trade associations and businesses operating across the Indo-Pacific to achieve the shared goals of enhancing supply chain resilience, facilitating digital transformation and accelerating the clean energy transition.”
“Hosting our annual meeting with the U.S. Department of Commerce underscores the benefits trade and investment bring to workers in both the United States and across the region, and how US foreign direct investment and trade increases the benefits of U.S. led initiatives in the region,” Okun noted. “We thank AmCham Thailand and its Executive Director Heidi Gallant for serving as out host AmCham this year.”
Coming next will be the annual door knock to Washington, DC, from July 16-19, 2023, to include meetings with key leaders from the Biden Administration, Congress, and the US Chamber of Commerce, as well as two working receptions, hosted each by McLarty Associates and King & Spalding. The AAP Board re-appointed the BGR Group as AAP’s Washington, DC representative for this year’s event.
George Drysdale and Shiumei Lin were re-appointed as Vice Chairs. The Executive Committee includes Treasurer Catherine Castro from the Guam Chamber of Commerce and Secretary Travis Mitchell from the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia.
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