Meeting Professionals International (MPI) last week announced the opening of an Asia office in Singapore. Scheduled to officially open on 25 October 2007, the office is part of MPI’s new vision and global strategy that was revealed in March at the Professional Education Conference-Europe, Copenhagen.

The announcement was made jointly by MPI and the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB) at a press conference during the 2007 World Education Congress à la Montréal to a crowd of global meetings and events professionals.

“The expansion of MPI into Asia-Pacific is a deliberate response to supporting the outstanding meetings and travel growth in that region,” said Bruce MacMillan, MPI president and CEO. ”With the continuous development of its meetings and events industry infrastructure, its role as a regional hub for Asia and its appeal as a brand, Singapore is the ideal choice as the place for our fourth office.”

As part of its new vision, “to build a rich global meetings and events community”, the association explained “strategy positions MPI as a truly global community for its members and sustains its industry leadership role”. MPI's strategy to use the Singapore office to add the Asian dimension of MPI's knowledge and industry networks complements Singapore's vision to be the key Exchange Capital of Asia, connecting knowledge with business.

“The opening of this office fits in with Singapore’s vision to develop a vibrant ecosystem of world-class Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) International Organisations (IO’s), which play an instrumental role in the professional development of the Singapore MICE industry. This also reinforces Singapore’s position as an exchange capital of the world, where there is a robust exchange of ideas and a fertile ground for business prospects, networking opportunities and the development of human capital,” said Aloysius Arlando, assistant chief executive, SECB. “Through its international networks, as well as its ability to build relationships and marketplaces around the world for all members, MPI’s presence in Singapore will provide meetings industry members with opportunities to further develop their expertise and tap into a global community of meeting industry professionals. Singapore looks forward to solidifying this relationship with MPI.”

MPI anticipates hosting a Professional Education Conference-Asia (PEC-Asia) in Singapore, during Autumn 2008. PEC-Asia will be a highly creative conference showcasing new concepts, educational delivery systems and marketplaces.