Roland Jabbour - The National President of (AACCI) The Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AACCI) Dinner - World Chambers Congress "With more than half a million Australians of Arab decent in Australia... we have endured a long and positive relationship with the Arab region" - Roland Jabbour 22/9/2017 (Translation of this article appears in Arabic section) Sydney - M. E. TIMES Int'l: The Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AACCI) Dinner held a dinner in honour of the Middle East and North Africa delegations. The event was held at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel on Wednesday 20th September 2017. Amongst those in attendance were distinguished guests from the Middle East and North Africa Region. Mohamad Hage - NSW President of (AACCI) The Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry is the peak body you’ll find investment and trade between Australia and the MENA region. As the Chamber of Commerce we continue to extend on the financial relations, trade and investments between Australia and the region. Australia shares its relationship with the Arab world in 2016 with our trading investments exceeding 16 billion dollars. 
Mohamad Hage - NSW President of (AACCI) Today we have over 230 direct flights to the region. We have over 40,000 students from the region enrolled in the Australian educational institution and last year we had over 300,000 Australians visit the region alone. But the trade is not limited to one way, the MENA region is uniquely diverse encompassing 29 countries and a population of just under half a billion people. The Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry strategically positioned to support key economic initiatives within the region. Roland Jabbour - The National President of (AACCI) We are a national organization, we have been around for more than 40 years focusing on trade and investment between Australia and the Arab nations in the Middle East and the MENA region and North Africa. With more than half a million Australians of Arab decent here in Australia we are very well placed and we have endured a long and positive relationship with the Arab region. The Arab region has become one of Australia’s largest trading partners and our renewed focus and numerous high level bilateral visits contributed significantly to the development of this relationship between the two sides. But the fact that we have such a small population gives us our ability to utilize the full potential we have to offer as a nation. 
Joe Rizk, C. Shalal, Michael Rizk, AbdulRahim Naqi and other guest Joesph Rizk - CEO of Arab Bank Australia At a gathering like this you notice that there is something that unites us and it is not just Arabic. It is actually the hospitality and when you go to the region what do you notice most, it’s the Arabic hospitality. It is the way they greet you in the hotels and forums, but the most important thing is the smile and the feeling of warmth. 
H.E Ahmed Ali (Amb. of Djibouti) and Y. Dawaleh (Pres. CC of Djibouti) If we concentrate as a group from the MENA district on that key element of hospitality we actually empower ourselves as a region to really make some fabulous progress. We don’t dwell on the differences we dwell on the positives. When a body like that works for the benefit of the country that it is working in people take notice. But don’t forget that Australia is a young, a developing country, it’s a big exporter of one big thing and that is capital. A country like Australia needs capital because it has massive reserves, massive capability going forward. The MENA has enormous potential. So if Australia and MENA get together that is a powerful force. Derek Sadibin - Chief Operating Officer at CAPA - Centre for Aviation We’re passionate about seeing aviation grow around the world. We run conferences in every corner of the world including. It is a global platform aviation conference and we’re passionate about increasing trade through aviation and ensure the Governments are taking a liberal view point on aviation. We should encourage people to get out and travel and see our world do business. We all know the success stories of some of the Gulf carriers and integrated approach they have to their economies through investment in airport infrastructure and the economic spinoff. Mohammed Asfour - The head of the International Chamber of Commerce in Jordan He delivered a speech in which he expressed his pleasure at the opportunity to meet with a large number of guests participating in the World Chambers Congress. Then he talked about his country (Jordan), which is surrounded by problems and turmoil, pointing out that the Syrian crisis almost came to an end. "Jordan is now promoting the reconstruction of Syria," he said. "Jordan is a small country for its population, but it has hosted displaced people from Syria and Iraq. We have been able to handle the refugee problem due to our king's wide observation. We are poor but rich in Education and knowledge, and the Jordanian people are active and always aspire to make achievements that dazzle the world." He also stressed the importance of connection between peoples, which creates potential, pointing out that Jordan welcomes everyone who wants to invest in its territory. "I am pleased to visit Australia, which has been delayed because of age, but finally achieved." Asfour concluded. 
Mohamad Hage (1stR) (NSW president of AACCI) with Qatari delegation The Arab region is becoming a very important destination for Australia as we globalize our international engagement diversifying our approach it is a very important component to this international engagement strategy. We find that the Arab region presents an exceptionally good opportunity for Australia. Our traditional partners were in Asia and continue to be in Asia, China has been the prominent trading partner with Australia. We find the Arab world with its emerging economies with its wealth, with exceptional young population presents an enormous opportunity for us as a nation. |
