On September 19, 2019, the U.S.-Egypt Business Council had the pleasure of hosting the Honorable Jonathan Cohen, U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Egypt, at a dinner alongside USEBC member representatives. The event was opened by Steve Lutes, Vice President of Middle East Affairs, who provided an overview of the role of the Chamber and a renewal of the USEBC pledge to advocate for American business in Egypt and our plan to start thinking about what the next 40 years of the U.S.-Egypt relationship should aspire to achieve. Hisham Fahmy, CEO of AmCham Egypt Inc., echoed this sentiment while outlining the ongoing work and success of their offices in Cairo and Washington, while Greg Lebedev, Chairman of the Center for International Private Enterprise and senior advisor to the CEO of the U.S. Chamber, emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Egypt business partnership.

Ambassador-Designate Cohen comes to his new role with a long history of public service and close work with the Chamber, most recently in his role as Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. Cohen affirmed that ensuring the access of quality American goods and services to the Egyptian market would remain a top priority of the embassy throughout the duration of his post.

Khush Choksy, the Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Middle East Affairs, pointed out the diversity of the U.S.-Egypt Business Council membership, one of its greatest strengths, as the sectors represented Thursday night included energy, digital and financial services, consumer goods, tourism, health and innovative life sciences, agriculture, infrastructure, and defense.

The USEBC members representing these sectors made use of the opportunity to familiarize Ambassador-Designate Cohen with their work, including Caroline Berson, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs for PepsiCo – Vice Chair of the USEBC—who highlighted PepsiCo’s longstanding commitment within Egypt.