PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: October 16, 2003
Contact: Melinda Maas-Gaffney, PR Director
Tel: 858-826-1691; Email: maasgaffneym@fed.org

New Strategic Alliance for Business Training in Iraq

Washington, DC – The Foundation for Enterprise Development (FED) today announces the signing of a strategic alliance with the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IACCI). FED and IACCI will join forces to create and manage a business training facility in Iraq.

The objective of the agreement is to launch business training activities for new entrepreneurs, existing small-and medium-sized business owners and managers from state-owned enterprises that will soon be facing international competition. IACCI will be responsible for managing all on-site training operations through its current staff and facilities in Baghdad. FED will be responsible for all business training content and delivery, as well as representing IACCI in Washington, DC through its existing office and personnel on all matters pertaining to business training in Iraq.

“Business training is the most critical component required to establish a flourishing free-market system in newly-liberated Iraq,” according to Ra’ad Ommar, President of IACCI. “Given the thousands of business managers and entrepreneurs that have been severely limited over the last two decades, business training will prove to be the most important economic contribution to Iraq for the foreseeable future. FED brings rich expertise in the area of business training for not only Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) managers, but also for executives in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that have a different set of training requirements in light of pending privatizations and differing education levels,” he added.

“We are pleased to form this partnership with IACCI,” commented Dr. Raymond Smilor, President of FED. “Since IACCI is already up and running in Baghdad, it holds a leadership position in the Iraqi business community. It maintains an extensive network of in-country contacts and is highly regarded by numerous US government agencies. We are certain that our alliance will have a positive impact on economic growth in Iraq, both in the near term and over time.”

The IACCI is a non-profit business association founded to actively promote free markets, the rule of law and trade linkages between Iraq and the United States. It accomplishes these goals by conducting surveys and holding round table meetings throughout major cities in Iraq with the participation of business leaders in the country, US agencies, and select groups of individuals from business, think tanks, and non-profit organizations to foster its goals. IACCI is based in Los Angeles, CA.

The Foundation for Enterprise Development is a non-profit organization that seeks to foster a society that encourages, supports and values entrepreneurial employee ownership as the most far and effective approach to enterprise development and to building high performing organizations, ensuring economic vitality and enhancing community well-being. Dr. J. Robert Beyster, founder and Chairman of Science Applications International Corporation, one of the nation’s largest employee-owned firms, established the Foundation in 1986. FED is based in La Jolla, CA with offices in Washington, DC and Moscow, Russia.
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