On 28 March 2013, Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Finance Charles Collyns, along with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Asia Robert Dohner, and Deputy Director of the Office of South and Southeast Asia of the Treasury Department Atticus F. Weller, joined the meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Washington (ACW), currently chaired by Dr. ChaiyongSatjipanon, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States of America, at the Royal Thai Embassy. The Honorable Collyns and the ASEAN ambassadors informally discussed and exchanged their views on issues of mutual interest including the U.S. trade and economic engagement with Asia, particularly the Southeast Asia, as well as the U.S. domestic economy. The Assistant Secretary is scheduled to attend the ASEAN-U.S. Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting in Brunei Darussalam next week. Therefore, the discussion was timely for both sides to engage before the Assistant Secretary’s visit to the region. Before proceeding to the lunch, Ambassador Chaiyong presented tokens of appreciation to the guests from the Department of Treasury, including a set of books called “The Eagle& the Elephant: Thai-American Relations Since 1833.”