JORDAN'S AMCHAM PLANS 2003 PROGRAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000765 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV - LAWLESS STATE PASS USTR FOR NED SAUMS USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/MWILLIAMSON USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/COBERG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EINV BEXP JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S AMCHAM PLANS 2003 PROGRAM -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (u) With the regional outlook uncertain for the coming months, the Board of Directors of JABA, Jordan's AmCham, have restructured their event planning for 2003. They are shifting more of their events to late in the year and planning more trips to the U.S. in an effort to keep momentum going from the December Joint Economic Committee (JEC),while recognizing the difficulty of enticing investors, speakers, or business partners to Amman in the spring/summer timeframe. As JABA's plans develop, we will be in contact with interested Washington agencies for follow-up and support. END SUMMARY. -------------- AJEX RESCHEDULED -------------- ¶2. (u) In a meeting with the Ambassador on January 26, JABA's Board of Directors outlined an ambitious yet practical plan for 2003 to keep interest levels in the FTA and QIZ up in the U.S., and to keep JABA members active in promoting the FTA and building on the relationships they established with American partners during the December JEC meeting in Washington. Of particular note, JABA has decided to reschedule AJEX, the American products exhibition and seminar series, to the end of September. the JABA Board had originally planned to hold AJEX in late March, but found it increasingly difficult to secure commitments from sponsors, speakers, or participants from the U.S. to attend an event in Amman in that timeframe. JABA hopes the new date will avoid complications from any potential conflict with Iraq in the spring, and will also avoid a scheduling crunch with a similar event, World Trade Week, which is currently scheduled for early June. In addition, the September date will allow JABA to tie AJEX in with the second annual JEC meeting, which Trade Minister Bashir has informally said should be held in Amman in September. JABA will continue to seek strong Embassy, USAID, and FCS support to maximize the impact of AJEX. -------------- 3 CITIES/3 SECTORS -------------- ¶3. (u) Following on discussions with Commerce DAS Williamson in December, JABA is planning a 3 cities/3 sectors tour of the U.S. for late March/early April. JABA has already received a letter of support from DAS Williamson, and is in the process of identifying the industry sectors to be represented on the tour and the cities and program they hope to put together. This tour to the U.S. is in place of the visit of a delegation of U.S. business associations that had been planned for the original AJEX dates in late March. Through this tour, JABA hopes both to help Jordanian industry leaders develop ties with U.S. partners (import, export, distribution, and/or marketing),and to keep the U.S.-Jordan FTA in the news in the U.S., at least among targeted audiences in trade and industrial sectors. -------------- U.S. TIJARA COUNTERPART -------------- ¶4. (u) JABA will be working over the coming year with the Jordanian Embassy in Washington and with NUSACC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to encourage U.S. business associations and/or companies to form a counterpart organization to the TIJARA initiative currently underway in Jordan. The concept is to form a roundtable of "friends of Jordan" that will meet regularly to discuss FTA opportunities, economic developments in Jordan, and upcoming trade and industry events. JABA hopes to get either NUSACC or (preferably) the U.S. Chamber to be the "champion" of such a group, which they see as a vehicle for educating and advertising in the U.S. business community about economic opportunities in Jordan. The Jordanian Embassy in Washington will also participate, and will likely encourage appropriate officers from State, Commerce, and USTR (at a minimum) to take part in the meetings. -------------- REGIONAL AMCHAM -------------- ¶5. (u) JABA's final major initiative for 2003 is to talk to AmChams in the MENA region about establishing a regional AmCham body that could meet regularly and share data on members in an effort to multiply the benefits of increased U.S. interest in Jordan into expanded business relationships among Arab companies with U.S. market interests. The idea would be modeled on the GCC AmCham. As a first step, we are encouraging JABA to develop contacts with their Moroccan counterparts in anticipation of the conclusion of a U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. While much of Jordan's business community fears such an agreement, JABA is increasingly taking the view that such an agreement will actually create new opportunities for cooperation among Moroccan and Jordanian businesses, which could use cumulation of origin concepts to develop new business alliances to export to the U.S. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (u) JABA's plans are a practical reaction to the current uncertainty in the region, which they see as likely to continue for several months. By shifting their programs away from Jordan and into the U.S. and other regional countries, JABA hopes to maintain the momentum of new business relationships being developed under the FTA, and especially through the JEC mechanism. We will be working with JABA to develop many of these programs, and will be in contact with interested Washington agencies as appropriate for follow-up and support. Most immediately, we are following up with JABA on recent discussions we had with DoC regarding the 3 cities/3 sectors program and the TIJARA counterpart initiative. GNEHM