President Clinton convenes APEC summit on Blake Island on November 20, 1993.

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On November 20, 1993, President William J. Clinton convenes a "summit" with 13 leaders of Pacific Rim nations attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, or APEC, in Seattle. The historic session is held in a Native American-style long house on Blake Island, a state park in Puget Sound, in Kitsap County. Salmon is served, and it doesn't rain.

Attendees at the Blake Island meeting included Jiang Zemin, president of the People's Republic of China; Paul Keating, Prime Minister of Australia; Hassanal Bokiah, Sultan of Brunei who was the world's richest man (since surpassed by Bill Gates); Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien; Indonesian President Suharto; South Korean President Kim Young Sam; Philippines President Fidel Ramos; Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa; New Zealand Prime Minister James Bolger; Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong; Thailand Prime Minister Chuan Likpahl; and high officials from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

President Clinton summarized the unique session by declaring, "We agreed that the Asian-Pacific region should be united, not divided." The APEC session ended shortly after and was deemed a success by most attendees. In 1996, Seattle was selected for APEC's permanent U.S. headquarters.

Sources:
The Seattle Times, November 17 and 21, 1993.

By Walt Crowley, March 01, 2003

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