US delegation chooses Beirut as regional headquarters for the Middle East

Members of the first American business delegation to visit Lebanon since the lifting of the US travel ban announced their plans on August 12 to open offices in Beirut to serve as their regional headquarters for the Middle East.

After visiting Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the members of the delegation said their offices would be opened as soon as the administrative procedures are completed.

Dewberry and Davis’ vice-president for international development, Larry Keller, said that the advisory which accompanied the lifting of the ban did not scare him or other businessmen.

"What we read in the press does not always match reality," he said. "We are interested in the medical field and housing, and we will try to find opportunities in education as well," he added.

Although thousands of Americans have defied the decade-old travel ban in recent years, the trio is the first to visit officially since US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said at the end of July that the US would allow the ban to expire.

Issam Baydoun, director of ACE’s Lebanon office, said the companies were determined to open offices in Beirut even before the travel ban was lifted.

"Why Lebanon? Because it's there and because it offers various opportunities," said Thomas Jakubowski, a vice-president with the ACE group.

A delegation from ACE visited prime Minister Rafik Hariri, where Beydoun said: "We will be the first to reopen offices in Lebanon."