On security, Bartos said efforts to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) must continue. He added that any cooperation between the FDLR and elements of the Congolese armed forces must end immediately. He pointed to the repatriation of more than 120 former FDLR combatants and their family members as evidence of progress, and urged the DRC to clarify its demobilisation plan and begin implementing it.

Pilkerton outlined four priorities: protecting national security, encouraging legitimate investment, working with allies under the 2018 FIRRMA (Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act) law, and preparing for emerging technology risks through the Investment Security Technology Initiative. He stressed that national security would remain the guiding principle even as the office sought to respond more effectively to investors and businesses.

On commercial diplomacy, the United States is shifting assistance toward private-sector-led growth, including efforts with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan to connect every Pacific Islands Forum country to a trusted undersea cable network. A second Pacific Investment Summit is scheduled to be hosted in early 2027.

On Indonesia’s plan for 100 gigawatts of solar capacity, Danly cautioned that actual output would be significantly lower and that countries experiencing rapidly rising electricity demand would still require dispatchable baseload power. He said the United States wanted to provide both fuel and technology for that purpose.

Dan Petrie, the Acting Chief of Staff of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said MCC had signed a $60 million Energy Threshold Program hours earlier. The programme aims to lower high electricity costs and improve reliability by modernising the Energy Regulatory Commission, strengthening electric cooperatives, piloting smart-grid technologies and unlocking domestic capital for power infrastructure.

Mace said the United States is supportive of Vietnam’s plans to host APEC in 2027 and sees the year as an opportunity to deepen economic ties in Southeast Asia. Ongoing U.S. priorities include expanding energy exports and American AI and digital technologies.

Citing U.S. data from 2024, she said IP-intensive industries generated $11.4 trillion in GDP, 44 percent of private-sector output, supported 65.8 million jobs, and accounted for more than 80 percent of commodity export value. Copyright-intensive sectors, including music, delivered the highest earnings premium, with workers earning 130 percent more than those in non-IP industries.

“Logistics and communications are the decisive edge because they set the limits of our operational capabilities,” Filcek said.