Advancing the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership

Highlights

Scot A. Marciel Nominated as Ambassador to ASEAN

February 25, Washington D.C.—President George W. Bush nominated Scot A. Marciel Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a position called for by Senate Resolution 110. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.

Senate Resolution 110 cited the substantial and growing interests shared by the U.S. and ASEAN in the areas of trade, security, culture, education and transnational issues like the environment and disease. It called for the Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs to:

Provide overall leadership in the pursuit of the interest of the United States in the rapidly changing countries of Southeast Asia;
Communicate the friendship of the people of the United States and their support for the aspirations of ASEAN, its member nations and its peoples;
Engage with senior officials from ASEAN and its member governments on issues of mutual interest;
Seek the cooperation of countries from outside the Southeast Asia region that share United States interests in engagement with ASEAN;
Coordinate and support the work of U.S. government agencies engaged in cooperation programs with ASEAN;
Encourage the participation of other sectors of American society, particularly business, education and cultural institutions, in cooperation with their counterparts in ASEAN; and
Seek to ensure that United States government commitment of resources and engagement with ASEAN is commensurate with the evolution of ASEAN and U.S. relations with Member States