| May 1 | ASEAN countries | Labour Day | |
| May 1 | Indonesia | Asension of Jesus Christ | |
| May 2 | Indonesia | Joint Day Off | |
| May 2 | Cambodia | Business Mission to Cambodia | Sarah Chambers US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6705 Fax: 202.289.0519 schambers@usasean.org |
| May 5-7 | Vietnam | Vietnam Business Mission | Mai-Lan Ha US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6710 Fax: 202.289.0519 mha@usasean.org |
| May 5 | Thailand | Coronation Day | |
| May 8 | Washington, DC | Business Briefing on Taxation in Indonesia by Mr. Darmin Nasution, Director General for Taxation, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia. Mr. Nasution’s interministerial team recommended the lowering of the luxury tax rate on electronic goods in order to curb the black market for those products. That recommendation is now awaiting approval by the Finance Minister. At the request of Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, Mr. Nasution will brief Council members on important taxation developments in Indonesia and take questions on specific areas of taxation. | Chris Fedderson US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416-6719 Fax: 202.289.0519 fedderson@usasean.org |
| May 9 | Singapore | Luncheon Meeting with Mr. Scot Marciel, U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs/Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia, U.S. Department of State. Mr. Marciel will be in Singapore to participate in the ASEAN US Dialogue on May 10. While in Singapore, he has kindly accepted the Council’s invitation to brief members on developments in ASEAN-US relations, including the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership and its Plan of Action. As you may know, Mr. Marciel is first Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs. His appointment signals the United States’ commitment to maintain and broaden its relationship with the region. The U.S. is the first country to appoint an Ambassador to ASEAN. | Martin Hutagalung US-ASEAN Business Council Singapore Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 mhutagalung@usasean.org |
| May 10 | Singapore | 21st ASEAN-US Dialogue The Dialogue is the forum at which the ASEAN countries and the US review the many facets of their relationship, priority areas of cooperation, and our common areas of interest. | Martin Hutagalung US-ASEAN Business Council Singapore Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 mhutagalung@usasean.org |
| May 12 | Washington, DC | Briefing on Indonesia with The Honorable Cameron R. Hume, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia. While U.S. Ambassador Cameron Hume is in Washington he has agreed to a country briefing with US-ASEAN Business Council members to the share latest developments in Indonesia and we will report to the Ambassador on recent developments on commercial issues such as our participation in the May 2, 2008 US-Indonesia TIFA meeting in Bali. | Chris Fedderson US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6719 Fax: 202.289.0519 cfedderson@usasean.org |
| May 13-15 | Cambodia | King's Birthday | |
| May 14 | Madrid, Spain | ASEAN +3 Finance Ministers Meeting. A meeting of the Ministers of Finance from ASEAN and China, Japan and Korea on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting | Marc Mealy US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6707 Fax: 202.289.0519 mmealy@usasean.org |
| May 15 | Washington, DC | Dialogue with ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan and senior officials. The US-ASEAN Business Council will hold its first meeting with new ASEAN Secretary - General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan. The meeting is open to Chairman’s Council Members only, with one person per company. During this meeting, we will present the Secretary General with our White Paper that gathers the recommendations of U.S. business for ASEAN | Chris Fedderson US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6709 Fax: 202.289.0519 cfedderson@usasean.org |
| May 18-22 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2008 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) the World Congress is often referred to as the “Olympics of the ICT Industry.” The WCIT is held once every two years for business networking and the exchange of policies, ideas and technology. It typically attracts over 2,000 senior level executives and government officials from over 80 ecomonies as well as a large contingent of global media. The WCIT is the flagship event of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), which is a consortium of more than 70 international ICT organizations whose members comprise more than 90% of the global IT market. Past speakers at the WCIT have included industry and government leaders such as Bill Gates, Yukuma Yamamoto, Chairman Fujitsu, Dr. Dietrich Botsch, President, Siemens AG, Michael Dell, John Chambers, Steve Forbes, Bernadine Healy, National Institute on Health, Larry Ellison, Mikhail Gorbachev, Phil Condit, Chairman, Boeing Company, President Clinton, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs (Harvard University), Margaret Thatcher and General Colin Powell to name only a very few. The theme of the 2008 Congress is “The Global Impact of Information, Communications and Technology: Enable Businesses, Empower Societies, Enrich Economies” | Molly Poisant WCIT 2008 Arlington, VA Tel: 703 304 9637 Fax: 703 738 7007 molly@wcit2008.org |
| May 19 | Indonesia | Joint Day Off | |
| May 19 | Cambodia /Malaysia /Singapore / Thailand | Vesak Day | |
| May 19 | Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh's Birthday | |
| May 19 | New York, NY | Members Dialogue with Tan Sri Muyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry | Marc Mealy US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6707 Fax: 202.289.0519 mmealy@usasean.org |
| May 20 | Indonesia | Vesak Day | |
| May 21-22 | Brunei | ASEAN Genetically Modified Food Testing Network (AGMFTN). The AGMFTN is a networking group catering to GMO issues, and Singapore is the lead country in this initiative. Other participating member countries that are expected to attend in the meeting include the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Past and follow-up issues discussed at the AGMFTN included: status on regulatory systems and GM testing capabilities, and expertise in ASEAN member countries; analytical methods, and GM testing laboratories in the region; guidelines for methods validation and proficiency testing in accordance with international standards; establishing a molecular registry for purposes of GMO testing in ASEAN; and organizing workshops and exchange programs to address technical needs in ASEAN. | Ira Sugita US-ASEAN Business Council Singapore Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 isugita@usasaen.org |
| May 22 | Teleconference with James Clad, US Deputy Assistanat Secretary of Denfese. He has agreed to provide members a briefing about the United States’ governments goals, topics of discussion, and major issues prior to the start of the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore, on May 30- June 1st. | Main-Lan Ha US-ASEAN Business Council Washington, DC Tel: 202.416.6710 Fax: 202.289.0519 mha@usasean.org | |
| May 23 | Cambodia | Royal Ploughing Day | |
| May 26 | Jakarta, Indonesia | 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Task Force on Codex. The ATFC is an ASEAN technical working group catering to the technical aspects of standards as recommended by Codex. The ATFC meeting's function is to determine ASEAN position on Codex issues relating to trade in commodities and agriculture. Past and follow-up issues discussed at the ATFC included: codes / paper / codex standard / principles for traceability / working principles for risk analysis / guidelines - on powdered formula for infants, dairy products, milk, eggs, fish and fishery products (also additional species in standards for fish and fishery), tomatoes, apples, and processed foods, fruits and vegetables. | Ira Sugita US-ASEAN Business Council Singapore Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 isugita@usasean.org |
| May 31 | Brunei | RBAF Anniversary | |
| May | Indonesia | 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Task Force on Codex | Ira Sugita US-ASEAN Business Council Indonesia Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 isugita@usasean.org |
| May | Singapore | Health & Life Sciences Working Group Meeting. | Susan McKinney US-ASEAN Business Council Singapore Tel: 65.6339.8885 Fax: 65.6339.1982 scmkinney@usasean.org |