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LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD
AmCham Egypt has come a long way since its establishment in 1982, but its history goes back another 30 years.
In 1953, leading members of Egypt’s business community got together to promote the organization’s founding. That far-sighted sponsoring committee included Ahmed Abboud, Lotfy Mansour, Mahmoud El Attal, Abdel Meguid Barakat, Ahmed Enan, Shalabi Sarofim, Saba Habashi, Abdallah Abaza, Mohamed Hamada, Abdel Meguid El Remaly, Mohamed Sayed Yassin and Hassan Al Abd.
On behalf of the committee, Hassan Al Abd wrote a letter to Lloyd K. Neidlinger, executive director of the United States Council of the International Chamber of Commerce, formally proposing an Egypt branch of the US Chamber of Commerce.
“The establishment of such an organization would certainly be a valuable contribution to commercial and financial relations between the United States and Egypt,” Neidlinger replied, adding that similar organizations already existed in other countries.
At its establishment in 1982, AmCham Egypt became the 44th overseas affiliate (there are currently 106) of the US Chamber of Commerce, and the first in the Middle East. A new era of commercial relations with the region had begun.
Many of us have directly experienced the historic transitions Egypt has undergone since the 1950s. From a monarchy and a British protectorate, to independence and socialist-style nationalization, from ‘open door’ liberalization to a genuinely open market economy, and with the democratization process now under way – Egypt’s political and economic landscape has evolved, as has its strategic partnership with the US.
When the idea to establish the Chamber was broached, it was daring and controversial. Given the political and economic orientation of the Nasser era, it was not until President’s Sadat’s liberalization policies that the formation of the Egypt-US Business Council came about in the late 1970s, and with it, the renewed call to create an Egyptian-American chamber. Although President Sadat supported initial efforts, in the whirlwind aftermath of 1973, other matters took precedence, including negotiating the terms of regional peace.
After taking office in 1981, President Hosni Mubarak promptly lent his commitment to fostering trade and investment ties with the US. An organizing committee assembled to gather the necessary resources to launch an American chamber of commerce, and regular meetings began the following year.
In 1982, as many of us recall, the private sector was still a relatively marginal entity. Nevertheless, AmCham Egypt’s first membership drive brought 120 charter members. By the following year, the number had nearly doubled, reflecting not only private sector growth, but how positively the business community responded to the opportunity to work together.
Today, AmCham’s 1,500 members have a combined capitalization of over LE 100 billion, and are a driving force of the Egyptian economy. The private sector is now well represented in government, and we may proudly say that several former AmCham members have been awarded cabinet posts and high-ranking positions in the government.
We’ve also grown in outreach as an active member of civil society. AmCham Egypt originally had a staff of four; we now have 65 full-time professionals handling six departments of operation, and our annual budget has increased from $230,000 to nearly $4 million.
Aside from a busy agenda of local, regional and international conferences, business missions and trade shows, AmCham offers managerial training programs, preparing thousands of individuals for the job market, and job fairs to match qualified staff with the right employers. Meanwhile, our committees – run by members – keep us abreast of local and global issues affecting the business community.
This magazine made its debut back in 1985, marking the first step in an extensive information-sharing effort. The AmCham website, launched in 1997, was receiving 35,000 hits monthly just three years later. Today, it receives over 1.5 million a month. While keeping our membership informed, and creating forums for dialogue and interaction, we’ve expanded our contacts though a series of 24 DoorKnock missions, networking with our American counterparts, and communicating our views to the US administration, and American legislators and decision-makers of all kinds.
Many outstanding individuals have helped make AmCham Egypt one of the most prestigious business organizations in the Middle East, and we took the opportunity to thank them last month.
Working together, we’ve come a long way, and together we can go still further.
OMAR A. MOHANNA
President, AmCham Egypt
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