The Chapter has recently held a meeting in Dubai to appoint the steering committee members as well as the chairman and vice chairmen – an important milestone in the formation of the ICC-UAE Arbitration Commission

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UAE Chapter has organized a meeting attended by key ICC executives during which the members of the steering committee, chairman and vice chairmen of the new ICC-UAE Arbitration Committee were appointed. The event took place on 28 February in Dubai, UAE.

Mr. Abdullah Sultan Abdullah, Secretary General - FCCI and Board of Director - ICC UAE attended the meeting and chaired the session. He welcomed the attendees and thanked them for being available on behalf of H.E Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa the chairman of ICC UAE and gave them a brief summary of the ICC UAE Chapter’s activities and accomplishments. He also outlined the workshop and the seminar that was held in the UAE, along with plans to hold further workshops and seminars in 2010 and activities of ICC UAE in the country.

Taking the stage, Sami Houerbi the Director Eastern Mediterranean, Middle-East and Africa International Court of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Services, made a presentation on the new ICC UAE Arbitration Commission. Houerbi emphasized the importance of the arbitrators of the country participating in international arbitration activities which take place in different countries throughout the year.

Houerbi also suggested that more efforts should be exerted in order to make the UAE a hub in international arbitration, which consequently further promote and propagate ICC in the UAE.

Another leading speaker, Lara Hamoud, enlightened the delegates on the ICC Arbitration System in Paris, France. Hamoud explained how this system works in detail.

Finally, the ICC UAE Arbitration Commission’s structure and various functions were presented by Essam Al Tamimi, the ICC UAE BOD Member.

Several major decisions were also agreed upon by the attendees. It was decided that the steering committee shall meet twice a year and the members shall initially be registered as the members of the ICC UAE.

The members of the steering committee are also requested to recommend and invite other prominent lawyers to become members of the ICC UAE as well as the Arbitration Commission.

The next steering committee meeting is scheduled to take place by the end of March 2010 and the General Assembly is to be held in May this year.

On the appointments, it was announced that Essam Al Tamimi was elected as the chairman of the steering committee. The elected four vice-chairmen are Dr. Abdul Rehman Al Shaikh, Reza Mohtashami, Philip Punwar and Lara Hamoud.

The UAE National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce held its 13th meting at the FCCI’s offices in Dubai. The meeting was chaired by his Excellency Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa. Attending the meeting were their Excellencies Saeed Al Jarwan, General Secretary of the Committee, Abdullah Sultan Abdullah, FCCI’s General Secretary, Hamad Rashid Al Nuaime, Mohammad Rashid Al Hamely, Hameed Mohammad Ali Salem , Lawyer Essam Al Temimi who are all members of the committee

Belhasa stated that the meeting discussed items on the agenda that focused mostly on improving the performance of the committee and consolidating communication between its members as well as improving consultation and cooperation with other Arabic and foreign national committees members of the Paris based International Chamber of Commerce. He hailed the role of the UAE FCCI and the member chambers in supporting the activities of the National Committee.

The meeting also discussed the committee’s local and international future activities planned for 2010 which will enhance economic ties between the local private sector ad its counterpart in the rest of the world. The meeting also discussed the 2010 estimated budget, the role of the International Chamber in improving economic ties between various countries of the world and particularly countries of the Middle East. The meeting also discussed some of the initiatives that were proposed by some national committees in addition to plans to face global financial crisis and its ramifications on the local and global levels.

The attendees recommended the importance of activating the programs and activities of the Committee and consider this matter of extreme importance so tat the committee will be able to serve the UAE chambers of commerce and the private sector in the country.

It is worth noting that the Dubai based National Committee was established in October 2002 and includes in its membership the UAE FCCI and the Chambers members as well as numerous economic functions and corporations. It aims to improve global commerce and investments.