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President's Letter AmCham Egypt is more dedicated than ever to supporting its members and the business community at large. The organization’s performance in 2004 speaks for itself, with an unprecedented number of events, a growing membership and a budget well in the black – much of which can be attributed to the tireless efforts of its committed and professional staff. But our members also deserve recognition for their participation in AmCham activities. Attendance at Chamber events generally exceeded expectations, while participation in AmCham Egypt’s 19 committees also increased. The committees met more than 100 times over the course of 2004, taking advantage of the depth and richness of our membership to provide a practitioner’s point of view on major economic issues. They also drafted a number of position papers on key economic policies such as competition, tax and customs legislation, while AmCham Egypt conveyed these opinions to the government at the highest level. In addition to its monthly luncheons, the Chamber organized dozens of events in 2004, featuring high-profile guest speakers from both the political and economic arenas. These events were more effective than in previous years, thanks both to a much higher attendance and the caliber of the attendees. Meanwhile, AmCham Egypt honored its commitment to advocating trade and favorable business relations with Egypt’s largest single trading partner, the United States. In addition to inviting U.S. congressional staffers – the decisionmakers of tomorrow – to visit Egypt, the Chamber sent its own representatives to the United States as part of its annual DoorKnock mission. The 32-member delegation laid the groundwork for mutual understanding, while simultaneously increasing the local business community’s visibility in Washington. Dialogue with both the Egyptian and U.S. governments, meanwhile, continued at all levels. In 2004, AmCham met with representatives of a number of foreign embassies to examine ways to coordinate our advocacy efforts for a better business environment. In addition, we have taken the cause of specific sectors, successfully resolving issues and helping companies in these sectors to conclude several key agreements. AmCham Egypt also kept up its aim of communicating issues to the broader public, by maintaining our continuous education programs in business and finance at Cairo University, as well as the many business courses offered by AmCham’s own Career Development Center (CDC). In 2004, the CDC offered eight certificate preparation courses and trained nearly 1,800 employees from dozens of companies. The Business Studies & Analysis Center (BSAC), meanwhile, produced fresh reports on the textile industry and bank rankings in Egypt, as well as a conference proceedings book on reform of the Egyptian fiscal sector. BSAC also updated two trade guides on exporting to and importing from the U.S. markets. Publication of these and other AmCham materials fell under the auspices of AmCham’s Publications Department. The department is best known, however, for producing the Chamber’s flagship publication, Business Monthly magazine, which is circulated automatically to AmCham members and is free to non-members upon request. Driven by an independent, news-driven editorial, the magazine continues to provide accurate reporting and commentary on business and the economy. Last year, the magazine’s circulation exceeded 8,000. Our Business Information Center (BIC) continued to develop the AmCham Egypt website, which received 681,000 visitors a month and attracted banner advertisements. BIC also expanded its Tenders Alert Service (TAS), while our state-of-the-art videoconferencing facilities saw increased demand. Of course, AmCham Egypt is a team effort and our many achievements would not be possible without the tireless work of our Board of Governers. I would especially like to thank executive vice president Dan McCarthy, who is leaving Egypt after long years of serving the community. Likewise, my special thanks go to Hisham Fahmy, executive director of AmCham Egypt, a gifted manager who has helped strengthen the organization’s international standing. I’m continually impressed by AmCham Egypt’s first-class, dedicated staff, of which we can all be proud. Finally, I would like to thank all our members for their support in 2004. It is your participation that makes AmCham Egypt the region’s premier business organization. Sincerely, |
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