1999 ASEAN Ambassadors Tour Visits Texas

Nine ASEAN Ambassadors to U.S. lead business conferences in Houston and Austin

The 1999 ASEAN Ambassadors Tour visited Houston and Austin, Texas, from April 7-10 1999, and met with businesses, students, academic leaders, and local and state government officials in both cities. In addition, the Ambassadors participated in a series of events with sponsoring companies, including Enron Corporation, Exxon, Motorola, Polaroid, and Unocal Corporation.

During a half-day business conference in Houston on April 8^th, each of the Ambassadors discussed economic developments in their country and fielded questions from the more than 100 conference participants. The Ambassadors and the audience were also briefed on issues in ASEAN’s agricultural, energy, and information technology sectors by industry specialists from Enron, Compaq Computer Corporation, Texas A&M University, and Unocal.

At the close of the April 8 conference, the Starr Foundation and Unocal Corporation also announced their next contribution, of $500,000 each, to the ASEAN Students Assistance Awards Program (ASAAP). Established in early 1998 in response to the Asian economic crisis, the ASAAP program has provided grants to qualified graduate and undergraduate students at U.S. colleges and universities whose continued education is at risk because of the region's economic problems. To date, the ASAAP program has provided assistance to approximately 400 students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. Both Unocal and the Starr Foundation each contributed US$500,000 to the program last year as well.

In addition, the Ambassadors met with students from ASEAN countries studying at the University of Houston and the University’s Conrad Hilton School of Hotel Management. In Austin, the Ambassadors also led a roundtable discussion on Southeast Asia with students from the University of Texas at Austin.

While in Austin, the Ambassadors met with Texas Governor George W. Bush, and discussed a range of topics with the Governor, including international trade issues and economic developments in Southeast Asia. The Ambassadors also visited the Austin facilities of Tour sponsors Motorola and Polaroid.

The ASEAN Ambassadors Tours are an annual event organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council. Since 1992, the tours have visited more than 20 U.S. cities and states and have met with thousands of companies to promote better understanding in the U.S. of ASEAN and the region's business and economic climate.