2015 AmCham MENA Regional Council Conference
“Boosting Cross-MENA Business Ventures and FDI from the United States”

Leading business executives, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and government officials gathered yesterday, March 8th, at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi - Grand Canal, for the 2015 AmCham Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Council Conference. The AmCham MENA Regional Council represents nine AmChams: Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Morocco; Palestine and Tunisia. This year, the event hosted by AmCham Abu Dhabi, AmCham MENA Council Chair, provided a platform to strengthen business ties between MENA region markets and the U.S. and is an annual highlight of the MENA business calendar. 

From left to right: Matthew E. Byrd, Chairman, AmCham MENA Regional Council and AmCham Abu Dhabi; Hisham A. Fahmy, Regional Coordinating Officer, AmCham MENA Regional Council and CEO, AmCham Egypt; Salim Zeenni, President, AmCham Lebanon; Walter Siouffi, President, AmCham Morocco; Said Baransi, Chairman, AmCham Palestine; Mohamed Bataineh, Chairman, AmCham Jordan; Mohamed Zaanouni, VP in charge of Legal Affairs, AmCham Tunisia

Hisham A. Fahmy, CEO of AmCham Egypt, which is AmCham MENA’s Permanent Secretariat, remarked “This year’s MENA Council Conference has been successful in looking at some of ways in which the region’s private sector can work together and contribute positively to economic growth and to face commonly known realities. U.S. businesses operating in the region have an increasingly important role to play as real engines for growth, as they continue to hire and expand within our growing region. We as the MENA Council of regional AmChams will continue to advocate for an enhanced commercial relationship between the region and the United States.”

Matthew E. Byrd, Chairman, AmCham Abu Dhabi and AmCham MENA, welcomes delegates to the AmCham MENA Regional Council Conference

“AmCham Abu Dhabi is honored to host this year’s AmCham MENA Regional Council Conference,” said Matthew E. Byrd, Chairman of AmCham Abu Dhabi and Chair of AmCham MENA. “The MENA region accounts for less than 5% of total U.S. trade. AmCham members living across this region know well the rewards of doing business here. We are convinced that this trade number could skyrocket if business leaders followed long-term strategies - and not daily headlines - in accessing these lucrative markets. This conference surely will have positive impact on commercial relations between the U.S., the U.A.E., and the wider MENA region.”

From left to right: Walter Siouffi, President, AmCham Morocco; Kamal Hassan, President and CEO, i360, UAE; Rabih I. Khoury, Chairman, Middle East Venture Partners, Lebanon; Tarek Sadi, Managing Director, Endeavor, Lebanon; Ahmed El Alfy, Founder and Chairman, Sawari Ventures, Egypt

The four interactive sessions of the Conference, led by top industry executives, were 1) “Where are we now: Cross-MENA Trade & Investment: Present Realities-Future Potential”; 2) “Angels, Accelerators, VCs & Private Equity: Hype or Viable Funding Sources”? 3) “U.S. Investment in the MENA Region: Boosting Intra-regional Business Cooperation through Enhanced Supply Chain Systems”; and 4) “U.S. & Regional Government / Private Sector Initiatives for Economic Growth.”

From left to right: Mohamed Bataineh, Chairman, AmCham Jordan and CEO, BADR Developments; H.E Juma Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy, UAE and Badr Al-Olama, CEO, Strata Manufacturing, UAE

The conference discussed the promotion of trade and investment between the United States and the Middle East North Africa region; advancing corporation between these countries and the U.S. - Fostering increased collaboration amongst members, as well as institutionalizing their ongoing coordination with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  It featured as speakers: Senior Officials from regional Trade and Investment Ministries, Senior U.S. Government Officials from the region, Presidents and Chairs of MENA region AmChams, heads of multinationals, angel investor networks, venture capital and private equity institutions.

Top corporate sponsors of the event were: Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways, General Electric, MetLife, Middle East General Enterprise, PepsiCo, Sultan International Holding, The Coca-Cola Company and The International New York Times.

Notes to the Editors:

For inquiries, contact:
MENA Council Regional Secretariat at AmCham Egypt; T: +202 3338 1050, Email: mena@amcham.org.eg

About AmCham MENA Regional Council:
The AmCham MENA Regional Council (MENA Council): was established in 2005, and comprises the AmChams of Abu Dhabi - UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. The objective of the Council is to foster increased collaboration and cooperation amongst the members, and to work on promoting greater business opportunities between the United States and the Middle East North Africa Region. The Council works on effectively linking the various members, and institutionalizing their ongoing coordination with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It also works on promoting Free trade agreements (FTAs) between MENA countries and the U.S., and on fostering increased awareness among MENA region manufacturers and producers of export opportunities to the U.S. through those agreements. AmCham Abu Dhabi is the current Chair of the Council, and AmCham Bahrain is the Vice Chair.

The Council’s permanent Secretariat resides at AmCham Egypt. For more information, please visit www.amchammena.org