AmCham MENA Council Meeting October 15, 2010 Beirut, Lebanon

Members of the AmCham MENA Regional Council met in Beirut, Lebanon on October 15th. The meeting was held on the margins of the U.S. Lebanon ICT Forum, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting was attended by Board members and Executives from AmCham Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and AmCham Abu Dhabi.

During the meeting members discussed future plans of the Council, and agreed that the next MENA Council Annual meeting would be held in Beirut next spring on the margins of the Made in America 2011 that AmCham Lebanon will be organizing during that time. A taskforce has been formed with representatives from the different AmChams to plan for the upcoming event which will focus on promoting business opportunities in specific sectors from around the region.

Members discussed the possibility of organizing joint business missions to the United States. AmCham Egypt recommended that the first business mission would be planned around the time of its annual Doorknock mission to the United States scheduled to take place in March, 2011.

AmCham Abu Dhabi, the Council’s newest member, expressed its interest in having a more proactive role within the MENA Council, and to formally institutionalize its work with AmCham MENA, through the formation of two committees, the Arabian Gulf Region Committee and the US Export and Taxation Policy Committee.

Members also discussed the need to spread awareness on the activities of the Council among members throughout the Middle East. AmCham Egypt, the Council’s permanent secretariat would be in charge of issuing an electronic newsletter which would be sent quarterly to all members of the MENA Council highlighting the different activities taking place around the region.

The U.S.-Lebanon ICT Forum was the first of its kind to take place in Lebanon and featured an exhibition displaying the latest U.S. trends in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and hosted a series of seminars promoting ICT relations between Lebanon and the U.S.