Posted on: Thursday, October 7, 2004

Ridge to address summit on Asia-Pacific security

Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge is scheduled to visit Hawai'i next month to take part in an annual conference that addresses security concerns in the Asia-Pacific region, organizers said.

Ridge is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the second Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit & Exposition, which starts Nov. 14 in Waikiki.

The conference brings together top government leaders, senior business executives and experts in security, technology and counterterrorism for three days of talks.

Last year, Ridge addressed the summit delegates by videoconference.

Other officials scheduled to speak include Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command; Albert Del Rosario, the Philippine ambassador to the United States; and Ralph Boyce, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia.

The event is organized by the state, Pacific Command, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the US-ASEAN Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i.