The heads of the Federations of Arab Chambers, unanimously chose Dr. Khaled Hanafy for the position of the General Secretary of the Union of Arab Chambers for a second four-year term that will last until 2025, during the meetings of the 131st session of the Union’s BOD, which was held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The heads of the Federations of Arab Chambers praised the prominent role played by the Secretary-General of the Union during his first term, as he worked on developing the performance of the General Secretariat of the Union, and was able to achieve a real qualitative leap that contributed to the progress of the Union.
The heads of the Federations of Arab Chambers affirmed the support of the Secretary-General in his developmental vision, as well as the support of the General Secretariat of the Union for the sustainability and progress of the UAC, which is the true representative of the Arab private sector.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Union thanked the heads of the Arab Chambers & Federations for the confidence they granted him, considering that this confidence bears him a great responsibility to make more efforts to be up to the responsibilities entrusted to him. He added: The renewal for me unanimously by the heads of the federations of Arab Chambers, to head the General Secretariat of the Union for a second term, is an honor and a great appreciation for me.
The 131st session was held on 6 June 2021 with the participation of 16 Arab countries, headed by the President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the United Arab Emirates, Muhammad Thani Murshid Al-Rumaithi, under the title: “The new rules for the role of Arab chambers to keep pace with the needs of business sectors in the context of emergency and far-reaching transformations in the global and Arab economies.”
President Al-Rumaithi inaugurated the activities of the session with a speech in which he welcomed the heads of the federations of Arab chambers and members of the delegations participating in the work of the current session, in their country, the UAE, which was and will continue to be an embrace and a haven for the brotherly Arab brothers.
Al-Rumaithi noted the importance of coming up with important decisions, especially regarding the challenges and circumstances created by the Corona pandemic, which would contribute to achieving the goals and aspirations of the Union and the Arab private sector, and meet the aspirations and hopes of the Arab peoples and joint Arab action.
The council's agenda was filled with a number of prominent items and issues that would enhance the role of the Union of Arab Chambers as the true representative of the private sector, as well as strengthening relations between Arab and foreign countries, through the development of economic, commercial and investment cooperation among them. They also emphasized the importance of Arab countries adopting a new economic approach in line with the requirements of the digital economy, the technological revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals.