DAMMAM, 26 December — The Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry is planning yearlong celebrations to mark the golden jubilee of its foundation, according to Faris M. Al-Harbi, assistant secretary-general of the EPCCI.
The inaugural ceremony on Feb. 2 will include an exhibition and conference, to be attended by heads and members of all local chambers, prominent businessmen, trade experts as well as high-ranking government officials.
Al-Harbi said a book, in Arabic and English, tracing the history of the chamber and its role in the development of the Eastern Province will be published.
The two chamber publications — Saudi Commerce & Economic Review and Al-Eqtisad — will bring out special issues to mark the occasion.
The exhibition will highlight the growth of the chamber through photographs as well as some rare manuscripts.
In the conference, speakers will highlight chamber’s contributions to the national economy in general and the private sector in particular.
Al-Harbi said the chamber officials in consultation with the experts would formulate an action plan to meet the challenges faced by the business community in the new millennium.
The EPCCI was set up in 1952 by local businessmen with the support of the government. Since then it has been a catalyst in the transformation of the area into the heart of the Saudi energy industry.
As part of its golden jubilee celebrations, the chamber has also planned a two-day oil and gas conference from Feb. 5.
The conference will focus on the opening of the Kingdom’s upstream hydrocarbon sector to foreign investors and the subsequent gas deals that were signed in June this year between the government and the oil majors.
The Kingdom and the eight Western oil companies have made substantial progress in their negotiations for finalizing details for a definitive deal by March.
The initial agreement gave eight foreign firms projects needing investments of more than $20 billion over five years to develop three projects: one in the Eastern Province, another near the Red Sea in the west, and the third in the southeast of the Kingdom.
The landmark agreement opened up its upstream gas sector to foreign investments.
