11 September, 2011 (Doha, Qatar) The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in partnership with ICC Qatar National Committee and Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry (QCCI) will host the ICC-G20 Regional Consultation for Middle East and North Africa. The event, sponsored by Shell, will take place on October 6th, 2011 at The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha.

"The Consultation is designed to provide local businesses with an opportunity to help shape ICCs policy recommendations for input into the G20 process," said Remy Rowhani CEO of Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry and ICC Qatar . He also added: Holding the ICC-G20 Advisory Group meeting in Qatar will enhance our mission to work with local companies to ensure that the views and priorities of the Middle East and North Africas businesses are heard globally.

The ICC G20 Advisory Group is a global business initiative aimed at delivering policy input to the G20 process. The Group is comprised of approximately 20 CEOs of major corporations who are channelling their efforts ahead of the G20 Summit being held in Cannes, France, on 3-4 November 2011 to introduce a set of policy views representing the priorities of businesses worldwide.

H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Bin Mohammed Al-Thani, Chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry, ICC Qatar and Board of Directors of Doha Insurance was appointed last May as a member of the ICC G20 Advisory Group and he is the sole representative from the MENA region amongst this elite group.

"Our efforts to  target G20 policy development on a global scale is part of ICCs mission and part of our core responsibility to international business," said Jean-Guy Carrier, ICC Secretary General. . "We aim to ensure the business views are included in the deliberations of G20 Heads of State, which is a crucial step in supporting business objectives for open trade, economic growth and employment," he said. With a view to ensuring balance and substance behind its recommendations, the ICC is also organizing consultative sessions with regional business leaders in Mexico City, Hong Kong, and Zurich. 

The ICC-G20 Consultation in Doha will be a key event for ICC Qatar and Qatar Chamber in carrying out their mission to continually improve the wide range of services to the business community in Qatar and pursuing favorable national and regional economic policies.

Remy Rowhani CEO of Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry and ICC Qatar commented: We are very proud of the participation of our Chairman H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Al-Thani as a representative for the MENA Region and we believe that his participation in the ICC-G20 Advisory Group will help bringing the regions business voice to the world.

He also added: Holding the ICC-G20 consultation meeting in Qatar will enhance our mission to work with local companies to ensure that the views and priorities of the Middle East and North Africas businesses are heard globally

H.E. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Al-Thani expressed his personal gratitude to Shell for its generous support: We are delighted to welcome Shell as the sponsor of this event, and we look forward to working also with them to establish a legitimate voice for global business that will be recognized by the G20 governments.

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About ICC
The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

A world network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICCs member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.

The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.

For more information please contact:
Barbara Cacciamani
ICC Qatar National Committee
Communications Director
Tel +974 4476 4464
Fax +974 4476 4676
Mob +974 6661 7154
barbara@qcci.org

Press Release 2011