CAIRO: M. Gamal Moharram was selected as the new president of the American Chamber of Commerce when its members and distinguished guests from the local business community gathered Sunday for the Chamber's annual luncheon. Moharram and the newly elected board which includes Anis Adimados, Adel Danish, Khaled Abu Bakr, Hisham Saei El Din, Hisham Hassan, Ahmed Samy, Hala El Barkouky and Loutfy Mansour, will lead AmCham for 2009-2011. The event featured a keynote speech by Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and the announcement of the Chamber's new board, which was elected by members during the luncheon. Rachid's speech focused on his agenda for promoting a more engaging business relationship between the United States and Egypt. The minister was in Washington last week for talks on building trade and business infrastructure between the two countries. While there, Rachid signed an agreement to explore new tools to expand commerce between Egypt and the US. "It is the wish of the US government and the Egyptian government to start a new page in our economic relationship. Our goal is very simple: to double trade and investment over the next four years, he said. He added that a restructured Egyptian American Business Council would play a central role in the new relationship between the two countries. Rachid detailed the growing economic ties between Egypt and the US over the past five years, pointing out that trade volume between the two countries has nearly doubled since 2005 while foreign direct investment by American companies in Egypt has increased by 50 percent over the past four years. He also pointed to the success of the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement, which has generated $2.5 billion since 2007, and announced plans for the extension of QIZ zones to locations in Minya and Beni Sueif in the near future. The minister identified the need to improve technology, ensure energy security and environmental compliance, and diversify foreign trade and as key elements in Egypt's ongoing economic reforms. Rachid highlighted the potential of Egypt and other emerging markets to capture a growing share of the international market in the coming 10 years, but emphasized the need for continued hard work towards reform and expansion. "I am optimistic about Egypt's potential but we still have a long way to go and we can only achieve what we want if we stay the course. Now is not the time for soft positions; reforms have protected us from the financial crisis and are the means to achieve goals for the future. The event also featured tributes to outgoing board members and outgoing president Omar Muhanna by members of the board.
