Washington, D.C. — The National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council co-hosted an exclusive roundtable discussion with Ms. Nourma Al Masri, an official from the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) on Thursday, October 10th in Washington, D.C. President & CEO of NUSACC David Hamod and President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council Danny Sebright moderated the discussion between Al Masri and a group of senior American business executives working in the energy, utilities, and infrastructure sectors.
DEWA’s Nourma Al Masri (center bottom), NUSACC’s David Hamod (center left), and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s Danny Sebright (center) joined by representatives of American industry following the briefing.
“The leadership of DEWA is linked at the highest levels with the leadership in Dubai, under the visionary guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, U.A.E. Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in supporting their dynamic vision of how to create an energy efficient, sustainable culture in the Emirate,” said Al Masri. “With the support of international partners and through energy mix diversification, Dubai is plugging into different elements of the global energy grid and driving innovation in solar, clean coal, renewable energy, and other key sectors.”
After welcome remarks by Sebright and a formal introduction from Hamod, Al Masri briefed the audience of executives on DEWA’s strategic objectives and plans already in motion to deliver world-class service to the Authority’s over 600,000 energy and utilities consumers in Dubai. Throughout the conversation, DEWA’s Al Masri engaged American executives keen to grow international business practices in the Middle East, cultivate working relationships with key officials, and pinpoint opportunities to establish public-private partnerships. The event also offered participants a unique chance to hear about DEWA’s strategy directly from an official working with the senior leadership to drive its execution.
DEWA’s Nourma Al Masri (center), NUSACC’s David Hamod (left), and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council’s Danny Sebright (right), during the formal briefing for U.S. executives.
“Today’s discussion provided American stakeholders with a glimpse into the many commercial and investment opportunities for international partnership as DEWA works within Dubai, and in coordination with United Arab Emirates agencies, to deliver a sustainable energy mix supported by cutting-edge technology,” said Hamod.
“Thanks to strong relationships with Nourma, DEWA’s leadership, and many senior officials plugged into visionary growth plans in Dubai and the U.A.E., NUSACC and the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council share a mission to raise the profile of commercial opportunities for American companies across key economic sectors ripe for growth and international expertise, like energy and utilities,” said Sebright.
Following Al Masri’s formal presentation, which included information about how American companies can participate in the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2014), and other Government of Dubai global energy conference initiatives, the floor was opened for a question and answer session. During the session, American executives approached Al Masri with questions about DEWA’s strategic plans for energy security and diversification, external partnerships with Dubai and federal government agencies in the U.A.E., opportunities for foreign investment and commercial partnership, and regulatory issues and standards underpinning the growth of Dubai’s energy sector.
Hamod and Sebright concluded the morning discussion by thanking Al Masri for her substantive insights and American business representatives for their contributions to the conversation.
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About the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC):
The National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), widely regarded as the voice of American business in the Arab world, is in touch with business communities across the United States and serves as the U.S. point of contact for the national chambers of commerce in the 22 Arab nations. On a daily basis, NUSACC works closely with leaders throughout the Arab world, as well as high-level decision makers in the U.S. business community, public policy research centers, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organizations, media, and the U.S. Government.
About the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council:
The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is a progressive business advocacy organization solely committed to the advancement of the trade and commercial relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The Business Council actively works to ensure that the U.S. and U.A.E. remain attractive destinations for foreign direct investment by conducting effective policy advocacy, undertaking various trade promotion initiatives, providing ongoing updates on the business climate in both countries, and helping develop strategic relationships between U.S. and U.A.E. business and government officials.
