2009 APCAC Executive Committee and Executive Directors Meeting, Bangkok, Oct 14-16, 2009

APCAC is the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce, the umbrella organization of 27 AmChams in Asia Pacific. Anyone with an interest in regional issues should get involved with APCAC.

The APCAC Executive Committee and member AmChams’ Executive Directors recently held a meeting in Bangkok October 14-16. AmCham Thailand did an excellent job of organizing the session. Participants met with Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand, and Eric John, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand.

The Executive Directors met to discuss best practices in running AmChams on Thursday, and the full Executive Committee met Thursday for a Washington update briefing from the US Chamber of Commerce by Tami Overby, Vice President for Asia.. The group met on Friday to discuss APCAC advocacy and strategic issues.

Most APCAC meetings (3 each year) are open to all interested AmCham members. The next APCAC meeting is in Beijing, April 14-17, and our annual trip to Washington, D.C., called the “APCAC Washington Doorknock” is June 14-17, 2010.

Please contact your AmCham Executive Director, or Anne Marie Brooks at ambrooks@amcham.org.sg, for more information.

Saipan Chamber of Commerce

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce started even before the political status of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) was defined in 1978. Towards the end of 1959, a group of entrepreneurial businessmen got together to form a loose association of businesses. Today, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce is the largest private business organization in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. With over 140 business members, the Chamber is an association aligned to make a difference in the Commonwealth community.