The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, received at the headquarters of the Union of Arab Chambers "Adnan Kassar Edifice for Arab Economy", Egypt's new ambassador to Lebanon, Alaa Moussa, where he was briefed on the progress of the work of the General Secretariat of the Union and what it has been doing since its establishment in terms of achieving Arab economic integration within the framework of a comprehensive, effective and advanced formula so that it can deal and cooperate with other economic blocs on equal bases that guarantee the interests of all parties and contribute to achieving global prosperity.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Khaled Hanafi welcomed His Excellency Ambassador Moussa, indicating the important and prominent role played by the Union of Arab Chambers at all levels", especially with regard to following up the implementation of the results and decisions of the economic summits in cooperation with the League of Arab States and other Arab countries." Pointing out that "the implementation of the decisions of the economic summits would collect and integrate Arab resources and wealth, which would lead in the final result to the establishment of partnership and the single Arab market that the Arab world aspires to."

He touched on the pivotal role played by the Arab Republic of Egypt "in many pivotal political and economic files," considering that "Egypt is an influential and effective country in the Arab world, and has great openness to most Arab countries, as well as to the rest of the world. Therefore Egypt can have a pivotal role in the development of value-added activities from the Arab region through Africa to South American countries."

For his part, Ambassador Alaa Moussa praised the role played by the Union of Arab Chambers, noting the great efforts made by His Excellency Dr. Khaled Hanafi at the head of the General Secretariat of the Union, "where His Excellency testifies that he was able to make a qualitative transfer within the work of the General Secretariat of the Union. Through openness and cooperation with the rest of the world in order to maximize Arab economic relations with foreign countries, so he visited many countries from China to European countries to Brazil, in order to push forward economic relations with these countries, which reflected positively on the trade, economic and investment levels."

 

International Document of Excellence

In addition, the Secretary-General of the Union, Khaled Hanafi, received the "International Document of Excellence for the Most Influential Personalities in the Field of Social Responsibility for the Year 2023 - Honorary Category", presented by the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, by the delegation of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, which visited the headquarters of the Union of Arab Chambers in Beirut. The delegation included Mrs. May Makhzoumi, the International Special Envoy for Humanitarian Diplomacy at the Regional Network. His Excellency Dr. Abdel Halim Zeidan, UN Ambassador of the Community Company in the Regional Network for Social Responsibility. The Secretary General of the Union thanked the delegation of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility for granting him this prestigious award, expressing his gratitude and appreciation to the "Regional Network for Social Responsibility", for granting him the title of "The Most Influential Arab Personality in the Field of Social Responsibility for the Year 2024". Considering that the "Regional Network for Social Responsibility" is one of the important and prominent institutions in the Arab world working to raise awareness about corporate and institutional social responsibility, and work to promote it in companies and institutions, and the governmental, civil, and private sectors. Dr. Khaled Hanafi noted, "Awarding him and the Union of Arab Chambers this prestigious award is a cause for pride, as the Union has always paid outstanding and exceptional attention to the issue of social responsibility, in a way that contributes to the development of our Arab societies and institutions."

Dr. Khaled Hanafi pointed out "since my selection as Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, I have worked to support the sustainable social responsibility initiative, as the Union always calls and urges local chambers and companies in the Arab world to adopt initiatives and develop the spirit of sustainable social responsibility. In accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and motivate companies by launching the award for the most socially responsible companies in the Arab world in various sectors and in cooperation with internationally accredited certificates."

He said: "We express our pride in the close cooperation that exists between the Union of Arab Chambers and the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, which aims primarily to serve our Arab peoples." Secretary-General Khaled Hanafi stressed, "We always look forward to more cooperation and effective coordination in the next phase, in order to achieve our lofty goals in terms of community development."

For her part, Mrs. Mai Makhzoumi spoke on behalf of the delegation, saying: I am honored to be with you today representing the Board of Directors of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility to supervise the handover ceremony of the "International Document of Excellence for the Most Influential Personalities in the Field of Social Responsibility for the year 2023 - Honorary Category" presented by the Regional Network for Social Responsibility.

She continued: "The selection of His Excellency Professor Khaled Hanafi, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, for this honorary and professional honor, is the result of His Excellency's efforts to promote responsible practices that have extended for many years. His Excellency contributed to the dissemination and promotion of social responsibility practices through his various positions, including the Union of Arab Chambers, culminating in his supervision of the organization of an Arab conference on the role of social responsibility for the Arab private sector. His Excellency also supported many community and quality initiatives and projects to promote responsible practices and sustainable development provided by the Regional Network for Social Responsibility and the International Federation for Social Responsibility."

She noted, "His Excellency is an international ambassador for social responsibility and an honorary member of the social responsibility experts of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, and through these honorary positions he presented many forms of responsible and influential scientific and knowledge-giving."

She concluded by saying: "We congratulate His Excellency for this honorary professional tradition, looking forward to this honor being a way to sustain this distinguished community and professional giving."

 

Qassem Tufayli

The Secretary-General, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, also received, at the headquarters of the Union, the President of the Arab-Chinese Association for Cooperation and Development, Qassem Tufayli, at the head of a delegation from the Assembly. During the meeting, they discussed cooperation mechanisms between the Union and the Assembly, and ways to strengthen Arab-Chinese relations.

Dr. Khaled Hanafi welcomed the delegation, noting the efforts of the Assembly in terms of opening the horizons of Arab-Chinese economic cooperation. Pointing out that "China and the Arab countries are important to each other, and therefore we as Arab countries must take advantage of the available opportunities in order to raise the level of Arab-Chinese cooperation to broader horizons. Especially since what is happening in China today is a tremendous development in all Chinese provinces, not limited to provinces or areas such as the capital Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, or Shenzhen. Thus, we, as Arab countries, can benefit from this transformation by entering into a strategic partnership with China. As China has moved from the stage of domestic economic development to the stage of external economic expansion through the mega projects it implements within the framework of the Belt and Silk Road Initiative, which are involved in creating great opportunities in the subject of value chains, which is a need more than necessary in this changing world."

He stressed that “to keep pace with the development taking place in China, and for us as Arab countries to be true partners of China, we must first develop a guide map that leads us towards setting a vision and then developing an applicable mechanism.” In this area, we need greater openness from the Chinese side to Arab markets, especially since China needs somewhere to recycle its wealth frozen by the United States of America, which is considered enormous, by participating in reconstruction projects in areas of conflict and war.”

For his part, Qassem Tufayli stressed "the great role that the private sector can play in maximizing Arab-Chinese economic relations." Pointing out that "there are great and huge possibilities in order to open the way for the private sector from both sides, especially since the ruling party in China encourages the Chinese private sector to establish partnerships with its counterparts abroad, especially the Arab private sector. Therefore, in the face of this reality, it is necessary to take advantage of the available opportunities, which are huge."

He called for "wide participation by the union of Arab chambers and the League of Arab States in conferences and exhibitions organized by China, especially the Second Supply Chain Forum, scheduled to be held from November 4-10. He revealed that the association seeks to launch an "Arab exhibitions office in China", which opens the way for Arab companies to increase their presence in China and establish partnerships and investments in various parts of China and in all vital and strategic sectors.

He concluded: "Agreements should be signed and Arab-Chinese universities should be opened, considering that cultural exchange represents a gateway to raise the level of cooperation between the two sides in various fields and sectors."

Source (Union of Arab Chambers)