Madame Anne-Marie Idrac, Minister of State for Foreign Trade in the French Government, has agreed to become the Honorary President of the new c-level executive group (LE Club) within the French Business Council for Dubai & Northern Emirates. The Minister accepted the invitation to support the group during a recent meeting of LE Club members in Paris, during which members presented the commercial opportunities for French business in the Gulf region to the Minister. The LE Club meeting was supported by Air France, which recently launched a new non stop route from Abu Dhabi to Paris.
LE Club will also be supported, in addition to the personal commitment from the Minister, by Mr Pierre Mourlevat, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs, Head of the Economic Department for the Middle East at the French Embassy in the United Arab Emirates. The group will also benefit from the support of the nine heads of the Economic Services of the French Embassies in the Middle East, who will share information and knowledge about major project opportunities in the region, which are the focus of LE Club.
Next steps for the group include a meeting in Dubai in June with Ambassador Jean-Daniel Tordjman, special advisor to the French Treasury and Economy Minister, and the Foreign Trade Minister, who is concentrating on the Masdar project in Abu Dhabi, to help introduce French companies to these projects.
Speaking about the meeting with the Minister, LE Club President and spokesperson, Lionel Reina, VP EEMEA of Orange Business Services, comments: "The Minister was very enthusiastic about LE Club and immediately accepted our invitation to become the Honorary President of the new group. This will add significant momentum behind our efforts to help create opportunities in major projects within the region for the whole French business community, including larger multinationals as well as SMEs."
Eight of the LE Club members travelled to Paris for the meeting with the Minister, as well as to hold a workshop on doing business in Saudi Arabia.
"The new Air France route from Abu Dhabi to Paris is already making an impact by facilitating these new contacts between our two countries," adds Fabienne Lucas, Director of the French Business Council for Dubai & Northern Emirates. "We used the opportunity of the new route to take our group back to the heart of the French Government and we are delighted with the commitment and support we were offered by the Minister and the broader French diplomatic community in the region."
The aim of 'LE Club' is to create an active network of senior executives within the FBC, who will share best practices across a broad range of strategically important industries. 'LE Club' (L=Leadership; E=Entrepreneurship) brings together a group of top executives from leading French multinational and regional companies, active in sectors from ICT/telecoms to aerospace and aviation, energy, oil & gas, security and defence, and media. The focus of the group is the major projects business opportunity in the region.
