ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider US-ASEAN business council commits to support PH chairship of ASEAN

US-ASEAN business council commits to support PH chairship of ASEAN

Published Aug 16, 2025 11:28 am  |  Updated Aug 16, 2025 01:03 pm
The United States-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council (USABC) reiterated its commitment to support the incoming chairship by the Philippines of the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council Philippines (ASEAN-BAC PH).

ASEAN–Business Advisory Council Philippines and US–ASEAN Business Council (USABC) meet on the sidelines of a reception for the USABC’s visiting business delegation. In the photo are, from left: Gil Gonzales, ASEAN-BAC PH Executive Director; Binggay Vistal, USABC Chief Representative, Philippines; Patrick Chua, ASEAN-BAC PH Lead Staffer; US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson; Joey Concepcion, ASEAN-BAC PH Chair; Ambassador Ted Osius, USABC President & CEO; and Third Bagro, USABC Senior Country Representative, Philippines. (Photo from ASEAN-BAC PH)
ASEAN–Business Advisory Council Philippines and US–ASEAN Business Council (USABC) meet on the sidelines of a reception for the USABC’s visiting business delegation. In the photo are, from left: Gil Gonzales, ASEAN-BAC PH Executive Director; Binggay Vistal, USABC Chief Representative, Philippines; Patrick Chua, ASEAN-BAC PH Lead Staffer; US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson; Joey Concepcion, ASEAN-BAC PH Chair; Ambassador Ted Osius, USABC President & CEO; and Third Bagro, USABC Senior Country Representative, Philippines. (Photo from ASEAN-BAC PH)
In a meeting on Aug. 13 held on the sidelines of a reception hosted by US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson for the USABC’s visiting business delegation, USABC President and CEO Ambassador Theodore George Osius III met with ASEAN-BAC PH chair Joey Concepcion.

In the statement, the USABC expressed its commitment to work closely with the ASEAN-BAC PH as it prepares to assume the chairmanship of the ASEAN-BAC next year.

“Ambassador Osius noted Concepcion’s passion for MSMEs development, as he expressed strong support for the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship in 2026,” the statement read.

This was after Concepcion shared the outcomes of the ASEAN–BAC PH’s productive meeting with ASEAN member-states and dialogue partners, where he also highlighted his priority programs: MSME development and agriculture and food security.

In particular, the envoy said the USABC would work closely with ASEAN-BAC on agriculture and food security, saying that “it would encourage US companies to explore partnerships in smart farming and agritech.”

“He also conveyed keen interest in ASEAN–BAC initiatives on digital technology and artificial intelligence, and agreed to collaborate with ASEAN–BAC PH for the MSME Summit in 2026,” it added.

Currently, Osius assured that the USABC is exploring conducting related activities by the last quarter of this year, and is open to supporting Go Negosyo’s mentorship programs.

Related Tags

ASEAN-BAC PH Joey Concepcion MSMEs
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.