“Made in America” Trade Fair
Mission to Beirut, Lebanon
October 9-11,2008

Members of the AmCham MENA Regional Council met in Beirut, Lebanon during the first week of October to take part in the ‘Made in America’ Trade Fair (October 9-11,2008) organized by the U.S. Commercial Service in conjunction with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce. AmCham Egypt, AmCham Jordan and AmCham Lebanon also participated in the MENA Council Conference on; “Deepening Commercial Relationships between the United States and the MENA Region” which took place on October 10th on the margins of the ‘Made in America’ Trade Fair.
The ‘Made in America’ Fair was inaugurated at Beirut’s Biel Conference Center by Ambassador Michele J. Sison, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, and showcased the latest American technology and featured the goods and services of more than 270 U.S. companies active in a wide variety of sectors including; information and communication technology, environmental technology, health care, automotive industry, construction, household appliances, security, transportation, and the energy sector. The Fair aimed at assisting Lebanese, Middle Eastern, as well as American businesses in taking advantage of the expanding commercial relations between the U.S. and the Middle East region. The event was a big success, and reflected on the confidence in the Lebanese Market as well as the Middle Eastern market in general.
A MENA Council Conference on; “Deepening Commercial Relationships between the United States and the MENA Region” was held on October 10, in parallel to the exhibition. The Conference’s plenary session focused on prospects for increasing trade between the MENA Region and the United States, and featured speeches by representatives of the AmCham MENA Regional Council including AmCham Lebanon, as the current Vice Chair of the MENA Council, and the host, AmCham Jordan as the current Chair, and AmCham Egypt as a founder and Regional Secretariat of the Council.
Mr. Salim Zeeni, President of the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, and Vice Chair of the MENA Council gave the welcoming remarks and explained the role played by AmCham Lebanon in promoting trade and investment between Lebanon and the United states as well as in making sure that all economic policies work to the benefit of businesses operating in Lebanon.
H.E. Mohamed El Safadi, Lebanon’s Minister of Economy and Trade briefed attendees on the current world financial crisis and the likely consequences on Lebanon during the coming few months. He explained that Lebanon as well as a number of countries in the Arab World are considered to be quite sheltered from the effects of the crisis, and that Lebanese banks have not been affected by the crisis. He added that a liquidity problem is likely to arise during the coming period, however Lebanon will not face a problem with refinancing its debts, the problem will be with potential investors who will most probably face a liquidity problem.
Mr. Mohamed Batainah, Treasurer, AmCham Jordan, stated that AmCham Jordan is currently in a re-branding mode, aimed at restructuring its entire program of activities to focus on business development projects, and on becoming a center for business development whose mission is to lead Jordan based projects. Mr. Batainah added that AmCham Jordan will be cooperating with government organizations on a number of projects including organizing the annual Ajex, scheduled to take place during the spring of 2009. This year’s Ajex event with be organized in cooperation with the Higher Council for Science and Technology-HCST, with the goal of promoting trade and investment in a Greener Jordan, focusing on opportunities in sustainable partnerships in three vital sectors of the economy; water, energy and the environment.

Mr. Batainah also added that the MENA Council provides an excellent platform for strengthening economic ties between the Middle East and the United States.

Mr. Anis Aclimandos, Executive Vice President, AmCham Egypt stressed on the significance of cooperation on the regional level between MENA Council member AmChams during this time, when the world is facing a financial crisis. Mr. Aclimandos added that AmChams as leading business organization each in their respective countries, should work on fostering closer ties between their members, encourage closer cooperation, learning from one another’s experiences, and finding business opportunities between themselves and off course with the United States. He also explained the role of AmCham Egypt in pushing forward the wheel of growth through the support of members.

Speakers from other business associations in the Middle included Mr. John Habib, President of the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi, and Mr. Louis Swarez, President of the American Business Council of Kuwait. They both talked about their organization’s role in promoting trade and investment between the United States and their countries, and were eager to collaborate with the MENA Council on different projects.

The Conference sessions featured speeches by H.E. Jihad Azur, Lebanon’s Former minister of Finance, Ms. Anne Simmons, Booz Allen and Hamilton, Mr. Fadi Abboud, President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, as well as Mr. Riad Al Khoury, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The focus of the discussion was on the status of Lebanon’s WTO accession, and post accession benefits.

Representatives of the Council of MENA AmChams present in Beirut gathered for a meeting at the office of the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce on October 10, to discuss upcoming joint events and programs to be offered, including a number of educational programs offered by AmCham Egypt, as well as potential cooperation between member AmChams that would maximize the benefits to members of these organizations.