The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is proud to support a senior delegation from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates currently in the United States led by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation, and supported by the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority (Shurooq). Below is a video profiling Sharjah as a destination for business and a press release published by Shurooq on Emirates News Agency-WAM detailing the first day of the ‘U.S.A. Roadshow’; including a readout of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council lunch honoring the delegation:
H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi (center right) is joined by U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Michael H. Corbin (center) and senior members of the Sharjah delegation, led by Shurooq, during the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council lunch in D.C. on Monday
Sharjah Roadshow in USA starts with large-scale participation from US representatives
1 October 2013 (Washington, D.C.) – The Sharjah Roadshow in the USA commenced its busy Washington D.C. meeting schedule on Monday, successfully kicking off the biggest foray of the emirate of Sharjah into the US to date.
Organised by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) under the slogan “Sharjah – Promising Opportunities, Global Horizons”, the Roadshow delegation is comprised of more than twenty Sharjah based corporations, entities, organizations, and government departments taking part in a five-day tour of Washington D.C. and New York City, from the 30th of September to the 4th of October.
The first day’s activities started with a meeting chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre and Head of the Sharjah Delegation. The meeting was attended by a number of CEOs of the participating entities from Sharjah in the presence of David Hammoud, President and CEO of the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce, Curt Silvers, Executive Vice President of the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Lutes, Director of MENA Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as senior officials from both chambers and representatives from other investment communities.
The meeting was attended by Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) Chairman, Abdulla Ali Al Mahyan, Chairman of Sharjah Health Authority, Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq, Mohammed Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Director General of Sharjah Media Corporation, Khalid Al Huraimel, Director General of the Sharjah Environment Company (Bee’ah), Ameera Binkaram, Chairperson of Sharjah Business Women Council, Badr Jafar, President of Crescent Petroleum, Nasser Akram, Head – Investor Relations ‘&’ Corporate Communications at Dana Gas and Dr. Nada Mourtada Sabbah, Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) as well as a number of representatives from various participating entities.
The meeting began with a video screening about Sharjah and the most important investment offerings in the Emirate. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi delivered a thank you speech to all the parties that contributed to organizing the Roadshow.
He spoke about the deep-rooted historical relations between the USA and the UAE, in general, and Sharjah, in particular, saying: “Trade and business relations between the UAE and the US are strong and only getting stronger. Despite the remarkable development in our relations over the last decades, Sharjah is willing to further develop ties with the US business community. Our goal is to change that”.
Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), organisers of the Roadshow, remarked: “The emirate of Sharjah has a great deal to offer foreign investors, both in terms of investment potential and ease of business, and as the authority tasked with promoting Sharjah’s many opportunities in the global arena, Shurooq has been very busy making the Emirate’s potential known internationally.” He added that the Sharjah Roadshow in the USA was organised under the ongoing directives of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq, which call for building new international business relationships as well as strengthening existing ties.
Meanwhile the conference room at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC was a venue for intensive meetings between Sharjah’s delegations and a large number of US firms, investors and authorities. A number of B2B meetings were coordinated in advance before the delegation’s arrival in the USA. Representatives of the Sharjah delegation are expected to hold over 300 meetings during the roadshow in Washington DC and New York.
The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted a lunch for the entire Sharjah delegation, in presence of Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Head of the Sharjah Delegation, Michael Corbin, United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council as well as the Sharjah delegation’s representatives and about 100 individuals from the US business community.
Delegates discussed possible ways in which to increase cooperation and strengthen the mutual ties between the business communities in Sharjah and the US in the light of the investor friendly climate in the UAE, which attracts US businessmen from a range of sectors.
In a statement during the lunch, Michael Corbin commended the tremendous and ongoing development in the Emirate and paid tribute to the efforts of H. H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in supporting development and growth in Sharjah and boosting cooperation and friendly relations with the peoples of the world.
He commented: “In recent years, the UAE has emerged as a global cross-roads, fuelled by the country’s policy of economic openness, its transportation links, tourist facilities and the energy of its entrepreneurship. Our trade relationship with the UAE is the largest in the Middle East. The Sharjah Government and Industry USA Roadshow is an important part of expanding the strong business relationship we enjoy with the UAE”.
“The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is the bilateral business council tasked with promoting trade and commerce between the United States and the entire United Arab Emirates,” said Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council. “Initiatives like Shurooq’s ‘U.S.A. Roadshow’ are important to highlight commercial partnership opportunities ripe for exploration between the two countries, and to raise Sharjah’s profile with American executives and potential investors.” In the afternoon, representatives from the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), Sharjah Museums Department (SMD), Shurooq, and the USA Regional Trade Centre (USARTC) took part in a meeting with representatives of Sister Cities International (SCI), including President and CEO Mary Kane, Membership Director Adam Kaplan, and Membership Manager Paul Rothman. The Sharjah delegation was led by SCTDA Chairman H.E. Mohammed Al Noman, and included Khalid Al Midfa, SCTDA Director General, and Manal Ataya, SMD Director General. The meeting explored ways to activate joint work with the SCI and improve cooperation to serve their common goals.
Hana Al Suwaidi, Director General of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA), and delegates from the authority met with Marshall Jones, Senior Conservation Advisor at the Smithsonian Conservatory and Biology Institute to discuss ways of joint cooperation and the exchange of expertise in developing protected areas. The Sharjah delegation also undertook a behind the scenes tour of the Institute.
Sharjah Health Authority Chairman Abdulla Ali Al Mahyan and Sharjah Healthcare City Commercial Affairs Manager Binu Pisharadi, met with representatives from the Lombardi Cancer Center at the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, including Vice President Nicole Duncan, Dr. Christine Teal, Linda Winger, and Dr. Peter Dritschilo. The delegates presented the authority’s plans as well as the Sharjah Healthcare City project, and explored possible avenues of cooperation and how to best benefit from the hospital’s healthcare experience.
To read Shurooq’s original press release, please click HERE.
