The Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers and member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of World Chambers of Commerce, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, met with the Director General of the International Chamber of Commerce John Denton, during his participation in the activities of the Board of Directors of the International Chamber of Commerce and the first regional summit of the World Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Europe and Asia on 14 and 15 October 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey.
During the meeting, they reviewed the mechanisms of coordination and cooperation between the Union of Arab Chambers and the International Chamber of Commerce, in order to serve common interests. The Secretary General of the Federation, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, has proposed a set of joint projects through which the International Chamber of Commerce can help Arab countries that suffer from exceptional economic and social conditions.
The Secretary General of the Union revealed the readiness of the International Chamber of Commerce to launch an initiative in order to provide emergency assistance to both the private sector in Lebanon represented by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, and the private sector in Palestine represented by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, in light of the current situation in these two countries, by raising the necessary funds through international financing funds, especially the World Bank. The initiative will be in direct coordination with the International Chamber of Commerce, which represents the international private sector, with the private sectors in Lebanon and Palestine.
The Secretary-General of the Federation, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, welcomed the initiative and expressed the Union's full desire to cooperate with the International Chamber of Commerce for the success of this initiative, through coordination and communication with the Federation of Lebanese Chambers and the Federation of Palestinian Chambers, in a way that helps mitigate the effects and repercussions of the current economic, social and humanitarian conditions.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a global organization that represents companies, speaks on their behalf, defends their interests, and is the sole spokesperson for companies recognized by international institutions. It was established in 1919, to create a global organization in which all business owners are represented to defend their interests and represent them before governments and international institutions. The Chamber currently has associate members representing millions of companies from more than 120 countries around the world. It has national representative bodies in more than 90 member countries of the Chamber. ICC has three main activities – rule-making, arbitration, and policy – and provides essential services such as ICC arbitration, training, combating commercial crime, and customs facilitation.
In addition, the theme of the first World Chambers Federation Regional Summit in Europe and Asia focused on the topic of “A Collaborative Approach to Climate Action”, with the aim of providing information on the latest developments in climate change and raising awareness of the practices implemented by the Chambers and the business community in response to climate risk considerations, including investment plans, corporate strategies, and corporate social responsibilities.
On the sidelines of the ICC Board of Directors and the first regional summit of the World Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Europe and Asia, meetings were held between the executive directors of the chambers and business delegations from various countries of the region, in addition to arranging meetings between companies.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
