[LCM Articles] Top US CEOs flesh out job-creation plan for Lebanon

[Abdallah Jabbour]

The Daily Star
Friday, January 26, 2007

*Top US CEOs flesh out job-creation plan for Lebanon 'When you invest in a
country, you make money for everybody' - embassy official *

By Michael Bluhm
Daily Star staff


BEIRUT: A fund led by leading American CEOs will finance initiatives in
Lebanon to promote job creation and workforce training, and develop the
information technology sector, the group announced at the Paris III
conference Thursday. The Lebanese-American Partnership - including the heads
of Microsoft, Citigroup, Cisco Systems, Intel, Ghafari Inc., and Occidental
Petroleum - did not specify the value of the fund, or whether it would
invest in income-generating activities. But the first $1 million raised will
fund relief projects.

The group has already compiled a list of 100 potential recipients in the
Lebanese private sector, including ventures in technology, tourism, banking
and finance, agri-business, healthcare and manufacturing.

In mid-February, partnership representatives will meet with US-government
commercial agencies, as well as Kafalat and the Investment Development
Authority of Lebanon, to consider joint ventures or other injections of
capital to develop the projects.

"The US-Lebanon Partnership is a great friend to the people of Lebanon, and
a leader in the effort to marshal international support for the rebuilding
efforts," Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said at a meeting of the group on
Thursday morning, which was also attended by US Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice.

"Lebanon faces real and substantial challenges in the wake of the recent
conflict, with damages to homes, schools and other critical infrastructure
costing billions of dollars," he added. "We will continue to work with the
leaders of the partnership to find a more stable and prosperous future for
the Lebanese people."

The partnership was formed in September at the request of US President
George W. Bush.

Rice said Thursday that the fund would help lay the foundation for sustained
economic growth and long-term stability.

The partnership is working to identify and place 500 Lebanese interns in
Lebanon and the US over the next three years. The heads of the group have
committed to placing 115 interns within their own companies.

Cisco also pledged to open new network academies in Lebanon to train people
for IT careers. Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers visited Lebanon in
November and promised $10 million on the spot, a US Embassy official told
The Daily Star. Cisco officials were in Lebanon Monday and Tuesday to flesh
out plans for the partnership.

In Paris, Chambers, Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel Corporation, and
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer agreed to bolster Lebanon's IT infrastructure by
developing the international gateway and Internet-exchange point that
connect the country to the world's telecommunications networks. Partnership
companies will provide online access points so the public will have easier
access to public resources such as health care information, online
education, online libraries and job training.

Assistance will also be made available to the Lebanese Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority, a key to privatizing the Lebanese telecom sector, in
establishing an enabling environment for ICT in Lebanon that can promote
innovation, investment and infrastructure development.

The initiatives were designed to foster long-term cooperation between the
American and Lebanese private sectors, and partner companies have expressed
their commitment to creating lasting, sustainable development.

"This is just a starting point," the embassy official said.

"It's not just we dump some money there. They're very interested in building
something that's sustainable. When you invest in a country, you make money
for everybody.

"We want to show US support for Lebanon is not just government funds. The
American people want to work with the Lebanese people."
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