American-Lebanese Partnership – Launches new portal

This month, the US-Lebanon Partnership Fund will launch its new e-portal, which aims to promote trade between the Unites States and Lebanon through business matching, enhancing the e-commerce capabilities of local firms and disseminating sector-specific information. The partnership—which was initiated by the White House and a group of American business leaders last September—announced its five ‘work streams’ supporting economic growth in Lebanon at the Paris III donor conference in January. Although its goals are ambitious, the exceptional caliber of the partners involved adds credibility to the project. The partnership was founded by Craig Barrett, chairman of the Intel Corporation; John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems; Yousif Ghafari, chairman of GHAFARI, Inc.; and Dr. Ray Irani, chairman, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballner recently joined the partnership as well. According to the partnership website, the project is founded on the idea that, “a stable and