| H.E. ABDALLAH BAALI AMBASSADOR OF ALGERIA TO THE UNITED STATES AT TH (USABC) DINNER |
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ADDRESS BY H.E. ABDALLAH BAALI AMBASSADOR OF ALGERIA TO THE UNITED STATES ON THE OCCASION OF THE DINNER GIVEN IN HIS HONOR BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE US-ALGERIA BUSINESS COUNCIL (USABC), ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2008
Besides being a hearty reception, this dinner is also an opportunity for me to meet with you and assure you of my determination to actively support our common goals, which are to promote, foster and stimulate increased trade, cooperation and business between our two countries. It is my hope that this business relationship will develop into a real partnership that would be mutually beneficial.Mr. Chairman, Mr. President and CEO, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening, Aid Moubarak, happy holidays: When I left New York, I thought that I was done giving speeches but, just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. To make matters worse, the Washington speeches apparently require more homework than the UN speeches. Anyway, since I’m back on stage, let me start by telling you how delighted I am to join you this evening. I also wish to thank the US-Algeria Business Council for organizing this dinner in my honor and for welcoming me and my spouse to Washington and I would like to thank, in particular, its Chairman Don Deline, its President, Dr. Chikhoune and its Director of Operations, Ms. Stewart. In the same vein, I do believe that the expected rapid development of Algeria’s natural resources, its vibrant economy coupled with its hospitable business environment and its large foreign exchange reserves that have reached $142 billion, do provide an appropriate opportunity for greater intervention by US firms through profitable investments into the Algerian market. Ladies and Gentlemen, As you know, Algeria is not only an attractive and growing market. It is as well the connector between Africa, the Middle East-North Africa region and two free-trade areas within the European Union and the Arab world. First trading partner of the US in the Maghreb and the second in Africa and the Arab world, Algeria offers investment conditions that are now better than ever for American businesses to expand rapidly. For the fourth consecutive year, the United States have maintained their first position among Algeria’s trade customers with a record level of almost $20 billion in 2007 and ranks 4th among Algeria’s suppliers. A major supplier of oil to the United States, Algeria is the second recipient after Saudi Arabia of US investments made in the hydrocarbon sector in the Arab World. In the natural gas sector, Algeria provides about 5% of the US LNG needs and intends to increase this share to 20% by the year 2015. However, as you know, economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries continues to be dominated by hydrocarbon products. We should therefore find the ways and means that would allow its diversification. We certainly appreciate the involvement of the General Electric Company (GE) in the execution of power plant projects in Algeria, as well as the participation of General Cables and other corporations. However, it is clear that more efforts need to be made on both the Algerian and American sides, in order to take better advantage of the entire potential of trade and investment aimed at diversifying our bilateral cooperation. Thus, it is all the more convenient that the factors leading to the achievement of this objective are well combined. To better illustrate this situation, I will point out that, after a tough decade of insecurity during the 1990s preceded by nearly thirty years of a centralized economic system, the Algerian Government is resolutely and irreversibly engaged in an ambitious process of renovation, institutional democratization and genuine open market reforms that would truly benefit the country as well as its partners. The country has now fully restored its political stability, strengthened its institutional capacity, launched the reconstruction process of its economy, achieved its macro-economic equilibrium and returned to the world stage as a respected and credible actor fully playing its role at the regional and international levels. Today there are real opportunities for the US firms to grasp, in a variety of areas, if they know how to handle the highly sophisticated bureaucracy that we inherited from the former Ottoman and French empires. There are opportunities for instance, in the sector of transportation, under the $18 billion Program for the modernization of the railway network with for instance 4 lenders just launched for the realization of 628 kms of railway tracks, or in the sector of road infrastructures with a $multi-billion Program for the construction of the Highland Bypass, the Southern Feeder Roads, the Southern Loop, as well as the creation in Tamanrasset of a regional air navigation control center. For its part, the national company for electricity and gas Sonelgaz will invest around $29 billion over the 2007-2017 period in order to develop its capabilities in the production and distribution of electricity and gas. Gold and diamond mines are also opening up to new opportunities as well as communication and information technologies, water facilities, pharmaceuticals… That is why I would like to seize this opportunity to focus once more on the need for a constructive cooperation between the Embassy and the USABC, in order to determine the ways and means of helping us achieve our goals by helping US companies take advantage of the benefits offered by the Algerian market. In the same context, I want to reiterate my support and that of my Government to the US-ABC as it pursues its mission of promoting partnership and investment opportunities between Algerian and American firms, under the Algerian Development Programs. The joint Embassy-USABC programs undertaken over the past two years, basically the trade and investment missions conducted in both countries, deserve to be encouraged. I could not conclude my remarks without emphasizing the Embassy’s great desire to see the US-Algeria Business Council and its member corporations get involved in the promotion of Algeria’s image through their interactions with their respective representatives in Congress. This, to me, would be the best way of contributing towards our objectives. I hope that all this talk didn’t spoil your appetites. Thank you. |
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