Goals Established for New Arab League Liaison; American Arab Chamber Executive to Plan 2003 Global Economic Conference.

Business Editors, City & News Desks

DEARBORN, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2002

Nasser Beydoun, executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, and newly appointed American liaison to the League of Arab States, will implement a four-pronged approach to building understanding between the U.S. and the Arab world.

Jointly developed with Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa, Beydoun's goals are to:

1) Identify liaisons in other U.S. communities where there is a

large concentration of Arab Americans;

2) Prepare for a Global Conference on U.S./Arab Relations in the

U.S. in 2003 that will consider economic and social issues of

mutual interest and benefit;

3) Create opportunities to educate the American public and

governmental officials on Arab history and contributions to

society; Arab culture; and the contributions Arab Americans

continue to make to the fabric of American society; and

4) Educate the Arab world on American society, values and ethics.

Beydoun said, "The goals of this position are rooted in the desire of Mr. Moussa and the Arab League member states to strive for a closer rapport with Arab-Americans and Americans in general. There is much misconception and misunderstanding about the motives and feelings of Arab people and governments. Many in this country believe that what exists between our two worlds is a clash of civilizations, when in fact, what we want to ensure is a dialogue of civilizations.

"Mr. Moussa is leading the League in a new direction, one that includes social and economic dimensions as well as political. That is why the 2003 Global Conference is so vital. Participating nations will focus on improving the lives of the people of the region. The American Arab Chamber took the first step last November by hosting the first-ever Economic Summit that brought the Secretary-General and four Arab ambassadors to the Detroit area and begin the dialogue of trade."

In addition, Beydoun said that encouraging other Arab American leaders to serve as liaison will be important to opening dialogue at the grass roots, one-on-one. His first step will be to initiate contact with Arab American leaders in Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

"We will take every opportunity and make every opportunity to keep lines of communication open. The Chamber and other Arab American organizations like ACCESS have worked for years toward mutual understanding. The events of September 11th have shown that we must redouble our efforts," he said.