Volume 7
Issue Tuesday, March 27, 2007
President's Address - AGM March 2007
7TH AGM OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH - Aleda Koenig _____________________________________________________________________ - Honorable Dr. Rajesh Jeetah, Minister of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce and Cooperatives - Mr. Stephen Schwartz, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America - Board Members of the American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius - Members of the American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius - Distinguished Guests - Ladies and Gentleman It gives me great pleasure to welcome you here today at Le Labourdonnais Hotel for the 7th Annual General Meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius and to present the Chairman's report. I would like to begin by giving you some history about the United States Chamber of Commerce, the umbrella organization for your American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius: The idea for a national institution to represent the unified interests of U.S. business first took shape when President William Howard Taft, in a message to Congress on December 7, 1911, addressed the need for a "central organization in touch with associations and chambers of commerce throughout the country and able to keep purely American interests in a closer touch with different phases of commercial affairs." Four months later, on April 12, 1912, President Taft's vision became a reality when a group of 700 delegates from various commercial and trade organizations came together to create a unified body of business interest that today is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, located on H Street in Washington DC. Today the USCC is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. It includes 830 associations, nearly 3000 state and local chambers and more than 100 American Chambers of Commerce in 91 countries. Its members include businesses of all sizes and sectors-from large Fortune 500 companies to home-based, one-person operations. 96% of USCC membership encompasses businesses with fewer than 100 employees. 2006 has been an eventful year, one in which we have witnessed changes at the Chamber which have lead to our review of the services and value we are giving to you the members of Amcham. This decision was spurned by your feedback that you would like for the Chamber to increase its visibility within the Mauritian arena by focussing more on business opportunities with the United States, acting as a strong resource for US/ Mauritius contacts and being more involved in facilitating these contacts. During 2006, the Board met monthly and consisted of 10 members as well as three advisory members. Last years' events included the traditional business lunches which continue to be popular, as well as an afternoon seminar headlined by Bert Cunningham, Comptroller of Customs, who gave an update of the ‘Reforms at the Mauritius Customs Department'. His intervention was followed by a discussion of Logistics Activities and Services with a panel of logistics providers (Rogers, KN and UPS) moderated by Danielle Wong, Chairperson of the Port Users Council. The five business lunches held during the course of the year covered topics from ‘Investment and Entrepreneurship' with Minister of Commerce Jeetah and Amedee Darga of Enterprise Mauritius; ‘Working Towards Good Corporate Governance' with Mrs. Maistry and Mr. Bussier of the Independent Commission Against Corruption; ‘Strategic Partnering with American Firms for Regional Success' with Richard Zurba, Director of the Council of Great Lakes States; ‘Opening the Mauritian Economy: Challenges for the Business Community' with Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Rama Sithanen; and more recently ‘How Small and Medium Sized Businesses can take Advantage of Opportunities in the US' with USCC Consultant, Leslie Schweitzer. The choice of these topics was not by hazard, showing that the Chamber is dedicated to bringing speakers and forums to its members which will enhance their ability to improve business knowledge and contacts. Pre-budgetary proposals given to the Ministry of Finance in May focussed on attracting more foreign and local investment, reducing tax requirements for the service sector, improving training facilities to promote a skilled work force and continuing the policy of liberalization of trade through increased transparency and enhancing financial services. These follow the Chamber's belief in the key value of further opening the economy to allow businesses more access to opportunities. In June 2006, the Chamber was represented at the 5th AGOA Forum held in Washington DC, by the Board's Treasurer, Mr. Mukesh Gopal, where discussion was held concerning the 3rd country derogation to the AGOA Act, the TIFA agreement, Aid for Trade and the McDermott Bill. The Chamber held its annual Thanksgiving Charity Dinner at the Maritim Hotel with newly-arrived US Ambassador Cesar Cabrera as its Guest of Honor. A donation in the amount of Rs130,000 was made to CEDEM and accepted by Mrs. Rita Vencatasamy. This was the largest donation submitted to a charity in the Mauritian chapter's 6 years of existence. Our website and newsletter continue to be sources for you to learn more about the opportunities for your business development. On our website we are linked with the USCC, Trade Roots, the US Embassy and Mauritian government, American magazines and journals and more. One of our newest initiatives has been to send you by email, a weekly newsletter, uschamber.com, which gives regular updates on US business policies, promotions and opportunities. As we have links with regional Amchams, such as in South Africa and Kenya, we have also been sending you invitations to their events when these have been forwarded to us. Another new program devised by the Chamber is to offer discounts from and for member organizations and companies. Three companies to have signed on to this scheme are the Paradise Cove Hotel, Le Labourdonnais Hotel and Le Suffren Hotel. The Chamber was proud to extend an Honorary Membership to Former US Ambassador John Price. He joins his predecessor, Former US Ambassador Mark Erwin as the Chamber's two unique Honorary Members. The support for and belief in that the US embassy has held for the Chamber since its inception is a powerful statement as to our validity and we are honoured to have their past and current representatives as advisors and contributors to our association. As you can see, the Chamber has been particularly active in 2006. However, coupled with running a deficit during the past year, it has become clear that although our programs are relevant, attendance is strong at our events and our members, as well as sister organizations, are supportive of the Amcham and believe in its mission, it is time to make decisive decisions and take action for the continued and prosperous future of the Chamber. Benefiting from a grant donated to the Chamber in the latter half of 2006, Amcham had the honor of hosting the recent visit of Mrs. Leslie Schweitzer. Many of you had the pleasure to meet with Leslie and were undoubtedly charmed, as we were, by her charisma and vivaciousness, in addition to her forthright and unrelenting manner in meeting the aims and objectives of the Chamber. The purpose of her consultancy was to assist the Chamber in finding ways to add value to its member services. Leslie spent 4 days meeting with a variety of persons including the board and other members of the Chamber, Ministers Jeetah and Duval, Ambassador Cabrera, Mr. Cheeroo of the MCCI and Mr. Jaddoo of the BOI in order to understand more as to how Amcham operates and is perceived in Mauritius. She also sat in on a board meeting and was our guest speaker for a luncheon. Feedback from Leslie's interviews was extremely positive and she came away with an enlightened sense that the purpose of the Chamber is stronger than ever. She has put together a report of her findings. Her suggestions for taking the chamber to the next level include reviewing the constitution, revising membership profile, upgrading the website, increasing communication with membership and media, preparing a mission to the US, increasing membership, partnering with other Mauritian organizations, continuing with lunches and forums, designing and developing new marketing materials. To achieve these tasks, the Chamber will need you. Your commitment. Your energy. Amcham will have to create new ways to supplement its income. This next year will be an exciting and challenging time. With your drive and support, I feel confident the Chamber will realize its goal to become the international organization which provides you with the resources you require to facilitate trade and investment between the United States and Mauritius. In closing, I would like to thank all of you for the support you have given me over the past two years of my mandate. I wish to thank my fellow board members who have guided and supported the Chamber in its endeavors. In addition, I thank the staff of the American Embassy for their assistance and in particular, Ambassador Cabrera, Stephen Schwartz and Melissa Brown, who have each been instrumental in furthering the pursuits of the Chamber. And I want to make a special mention and thank the people who are behind the scenes of the day to day work which goes on at the Amcham, Mrs. Linda Mamet and Mrs. Renu Padaruth. Let me end by personally thanking Minister Jeetah for his presence today and for having assisted at a luncheon last year, where we first met and I was impressed by his drive and conviction. I feel confident that the Chamber will continue a fruitful relationship with his ministry in the future. Thank you very much. Aleda Koenig - President American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius March 14, 2007 On February 28, 2006 the USCC held its 500th Board Meeting. That's a lot of meetings and many successes for what is the largest international business organization in the world. The American Chamber of Commerce Mauritius is proud to be a member of the USCC and to be a link for you, its members, with this venerable institution. As an extension of this international organization we are intent in our mission to provide you with resources to facilitate trade and investment between the United States and Mauritius.