The tie-up will see the firms work together to help multinational corporations in their relationships with governments.
APCO president and chief executive Margery Kraus said: ‘Most of our joint work will be for large multinationals looking to enter new markets or enhance their position or avoid problems in existing markets.’
She said the agreement married Kissinger’s ‘advice on dealing with governments and entering markets’ with APCO’s ‘on-the-ground capability’ of providing senior management with ‘cross-border comms and public affairs needs’.
Kraus added that the alliance would aim to play a particularly strong role in helping companies to enter China, ‘from finding joint-venture partners to positioning their company in the market and with key government officials’.
Kissinger said: ‘In today’s global market, the needs of multinational organisations are more complicated than ever.’
He added: ‘This alliance will create a team whose ability to understand and affect these environments will be second to none.’