State Department picks San Francisco to host meetings leading up to 2011 Asia-Pacific summit

San Francisco picked for Asia-Pacific negotiations

SAN FRANCISCO — The State Department has selected San Francisco to host two weeks of meetings between ambassadors from 21 nations as a prelude to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum President Obama is hosting in Hawaii next year.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the city would be the site of the September 2011 Senior Officials’ Meeting.

The event is an opportunity for negotiators and business leaders from Pacific Rim nations to discuss trade, energy, transportation and other economic issues.

The heads of state meeting will be held two months later in Honolulu.

The governor’s office described the gathering as the first high-level international meeting that California has successfully applied to host in over a decade.