CASPIAN BASIN ENERGY CONFERENCE AT WTC

The U.S. Department of Commerce, the Department of State, and other organizations are sponsoring a Caspian Basin Energy Conference at the Plimsoll Club at the World Trade Center in New Orleans on Thursday, January 9. The conference will highlight leading business opportunities for U.S. oil and gas firms.

The featured speakers at the conference include Ambassador Steven Mann, Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State; Hon. Ross Wilson, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan; and Hon. Larry C. Napper, U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan.

The morning session will feature an industry panel on "Business Development Opportunities in Major Caspian Energy Projects." The afternoon session will include panels on "Doing Business Successfully in the Caspian Basin" and "Getting Started in the Caspian Region: Resources and Services for U.S. Business Development." There will also be an opportunity for one-on-one business meetings. The conference will conclude with a Networking Jazz Reception.

To register for the January 9 conference, call the WTC at (504) 529-1601, ext. 222, or register on-line at www.wtcno.org/programs.

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK PROJECTS IN AFGHANISTAN

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently announced three new consulting service projects in Afghanistan under the ADB Technical Assistance Grant Program. Call the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center at (504) 589-6546 for details. 

• Gas Development Master Plan; $1 million

Requires international consulting skills with experience in gas infrastructure planning, assessment of natural gas utilization potential, energy economics, and natural gas production, transmission and distribution;

• Institutional Strengthening of the Gas Sector; $500,000

Requires international consulting firm with experience in gas sector development, institutional development, hydrocarbon sector policy analyses, and gas sector regulation and reforms;

• Study to Establish Gas Regulatory Framework; $650,000

Requires an international consulting firm experienced in the development of regulatory structures, gas regulatory issues and systems, evaluation of benefits and costs associated with regulatory reforms, and capacity building related to regulation of gas industry.

FEB. 6 SEMINAR TO COVER U.S. EXPORT REGULATIONS

The conference speakers represent the following federal agencies:

• Foreign Trade Division/U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce
• Bureau of Industry and Security/Commerce Department
• Office of Foreign Assets Control/U.S. Treasury Dept.
• Office of Defense Trade Controls/U. S. State Dept.
• Outbound Enforcement Team/U.S. Customs Service

The session topics are as follows:

• Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED): Legal Requirements; U.S. Principal Party in Interest; Step-by-Step Filing of SED; SED Exemption Statements.

• Automated Export Systems (AES): What is AES; Benefits; Export Filing Options; How to Get Started.

• Commodity Analysis: Structure; Export/Import Classification; Canadian Data Exchange; Data Processing.

• Customs: Law Enforcement Authority; What Customs Looks For; Trade Responsibilities; Common Misconceptions; Filing Options.

• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC): Sanction Objectives, Targets, and Prohibitions; Who is Subject to U.S. Jurisdiction; Effective Compliance Strategies.

• State Department: Licensing Processing Times; Requirements for Electronic Submissions; Congressional Notification; Defense Export Trends; Defense Trade Security Initiative; New License Authorization; ITAR Exemptions.

• Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS, formerly Bureau of Export Administration): Role of BIS; Export Control Process; Commerce Control List; License Exceptions; Submitting the Application; How to Get Assistance.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXCHANGE IN SYRACUSE

The 16th International Business Exchange will be held in Syracuse, New York on May 18-21. A business matchmaking event, the Exchange also serves as the annual meeting of the SESAME Network, an international economic development network with 14 member-cities on four continents. Lafayette, Louisiana is a founding member of the network.

The main focus of the International Business Exchange is the business matching process. Whether you are looking for an agent, partner, distributor, raw materials, customer, technology, or simply seeking basic market information, you will have the opportunity to meet with companies and economic development officials from all over the world.

This IBE will focus on four main business clusters and two support clusters: indoor air quality; electronic components; handcrafted manufacturing, bio-tech and medical, plus universities and chambers of commerce. However, meetings and discussions are not restricted to these sectors, provided prior registration is made.

After completion of a registration form and payment of the $200 fee, you will be matched with other companies with similar interests, products or goals. "Matched companies" will be scheduled for individual business meetings. During the initial meeting you will have an opportunity to confirm mutual goals and to establish the next step in the relationship.

In addition to the business matching meetings, each city attending has a permanent display area. This furnishes you an opportunity to talk to local officials and identify other possible commercial opportunities. For non-business representatives, such as civic organizations, universities, or government leaders, ample opportunity will exist for you to meet with counterparts from other cities.

Following the International Business Exchange, there will be an optional trip to the Futurallia 2003 business forum in Quebec City on May 21-23. During this multi-sector international business forum, up to 12 half-hour business meetings can be pre-arranged.

For further information concerning this outstanding opportunity to participate in one or both of these matchmaking shows, and to request an optional travel package, contact Le Centre International at (337) 291-5474.

NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC SCHOOLS LATIN AMERICAN PROJECT

As the New Orleans Public School’s pilot Latin American Immersion Project (www.projectla.com) enters its third semester, 15 local Public High School students seek the support of the local business community as they prepare to be active participants in the global world around them. The Latin American Immersion Project is an innovative effort to enable New Orleans youth to experience the life, culture, and history of Latin America, including the indigenous, African, European, and Asian heritage that make the region dynamic and exciting.

Based on the successful NOPS’s Kids-to-Afrika program, the project educates 15 public high school students about a different Latin American country each year and then allows them to travel there. Since September 2002, students at Warren Easton, a school chosen because it currently and historically has had the largest population of students of Latin American heritage in Orleans Parish, have been immersed in the history and culture of this year’s country, Peru.

Tirelessly making ribbons, baking cookies, and washing cars, students have already raised almost $1,000 of the funds they need to travel in May and hope local businesses will help with the rest. So far other contributing partners include Pan-American Life, the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University, Warren Easton High School, and the Orleans Parish School District itself.

The Latin American Immersion Project is a unique and important experience that will encourage understanding, inspire exploration, and bring the world to the New Orleans Public Schools and local community. "The expanded perspective they gain will prepare them for higher education, the landscape of modern business and ensure that they become active, thoughtful participants in our global society" says Project Coordinator Tory Pegram. For more information, to donate or to volunteer visit www.projectla.com or contact Ms. Pegram at (504) 314-9273.

CHINA BUSINESS UPDATES

The China Commercial Brief is a biweekly publication featuring summaries of developments in China’s various commercial sectors, tips on doing business in China, and U.S. Embassy news. The publication is free of charge. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to: join-china-commercial-brief@list.xianzai.com.

WTC SPRING LANGUAGE CLASSES TO BEGIN FEBRUARY 5

The World Trade Center’s spring session of foreign language classes will start the week of February 3 at the WTC Building in New Orleans. The classes are conducted by the faculty of Alpha Tech Communications. The emphasis is on business usage and conversation. The session will last 11 weeks: classes will meet once a week for two hours. The following languages will be offered: French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and English as a Second Language. Tuition is $130 for WTC members and their spouses and $260 for non-members. (Registration and materials cost $45.) Free parking is available in the WTC Garage. Call Alpha Tech at (504) 454-6554.

LOUISIANA FIRM TO CONDUCT WEST AFRICAN STUDIES

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced on December 13 the signing of a $364,000 grant to Ecomarine International Limited to conduct engineering and marketing studies for the development of a Sea Point container transshipment facility at Lome, Togo, on the west coast of Africa. Ecomarine, based in Lome, Togo, in West Africa, will employ New Orleans-based Sea Point, LLC to conduct the feasibility studies. Ecomarine is a regional multinational shipping company offering integrated maritime transportation services including feeder services to the main lines operating on the West African coast.

According to W. James Amoss, Jr., president of Sea Point, providing dependable weekly service at competitive shipping rates is essential to the development of the economies of West Africa. "Lome is ideally suited for development as a hub port for the large containerships that can provide fast, weekly service between the Americas, Europe, Asia and West Africa. The containership service that Sea Point, Africa can provide is a powerful way to raise living standards and healthy societal development so desired by these nations," said Amoss.

The President of the Republic of Togo, His Excellency Gnassingbe Eyadema, and the Port of Lome have authorized the allocation of space for a 950-foot-long, 110-foot-wide pier together with 35 acres of adjacent land for the joint development of Sea Point, Africa at Lome. The facility will be constructed in-stream and operate from a pile-supported structure, similar to an offshore oil platform, which will be capable of accommodating the large line haul containerships. When operational, the Sea Point facility will feature a specially designed crane system that will directly unload or load ocean-going container vessels to or from feeder vessels. These feeder vessels can transport containers along the West Coast of Africa to other ports too shallow for big containerships.

Sea Point, Africa was conceived during a May 2000 trade conference on Africa, sponsored by U.S. Representative William Jefferson (D-LA), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the World Trade Center of New Orleans. Rep. Jefferson and his staff have continued to play a strong role in fostering development plans between the USTDA, Ecomarine and Sea Point.

"The USTDA grant to Sea Point/Ecomarine represents the first stage of what promises to be a very exciting period for U.S.-Africa trade," said Congressman Jefferson. "I am especially pleased that a Louisiana company is playing such a prominent role in this effort. The development of this container transfer facility in Togo is a concrete manifestation of the impact of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)."

Eugene Schreiber, the Managing Director of the World Trade Center, stated, "This is a great example of the type of global opportunities for the export of goods and services available to Louisiana companies, especially in the developing countries which are in the process of expanding their economies and improving their infrastructures."

The target completion date for the Sea Point, Africa engineering and marketing studies is June 2003. Sea Point and Ecomarine are currently working together to develop the necessary financing for the $55 million facility. Construction on the project can be completed in two years.

The December award by USTDA was the second major announcement for Sea Point in six weeks. The company received a unanimous recommendation on October 23 from the Louisiana Millenium Port Authority to recommend a Sea Point container transfer station at the mouth of the Mississippi River as an element of the first phase of the Louisiana Millennium Port System. The Louisiana project is expected to have an annual economic impact of $2.9 billion for the Louisiana economy.

WTCA SPRING MEETING IN MUMBAI, INDIA

The World Trade Centers Association will be hosting its Spring Assembly in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India from March 29 to April 2. The gathering of WTC representatives from around the world includes trade seminars and briefings, a trade show, matchmaking appointments with leading Indian companies, and special post-meeting tours. This is a great worldwide networking opportunity and trade event. For further information, call Membership Director Natalie Rideau at (504) 529-1601, ext. 226.

LOUISIANA TECH COUNCIL HIRES LEWIS AS PRESIDENT

In October 2002, the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Technology Council announced the selection of Mark S. Lewis, as its new President and CEO.

Lewis spent 13 years with IBM prior to striking out as an entrepreneur in 1994 and has since been involved in many successful technology ventures. He was the co-founder and President of CommuniquÉ, one of the most successful local Internet Service Providers in New Orleans prior to its sale to Verio in 1997.

Thereafter, Lewis started a consulting company that merged with two other firms that eventually became Orange Twine. As Chairman of Orange Twine, a Web development and network services firm, his company won the New Orleans Chamber’s Small Business of Year Award in Technology in November 2000 prior to its sale to AIR2LAN.

The primary mission of the Louisiana Technology Council (LTC) is to assist with the development of member individuals and organizations in technology by providing programs, events, organizational support and other value added services that contribute to their competitiveness and growth.

The LTC’s secondary mission is to assist in the economic development of the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana insofar as it furthers the Council’s primary mission, and where circumstances are appropriate and funding is provided.

For more information about Mark Lewis’s new vision for the Louisiana Technology Council, call him at (504) 539-9255 or e-mail him at mlewis@ltc-la.org.

AMB. LINDY BOGGS TO RECEIVE WTC AWARD

Ambassador Corinne Claiborne (Lindy) Boggs will receive the World Trade Center President’s Award for Distinguished International Service at a special luncheon program to be held at the WTC’s Plimsoll Club in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 28 at 12:00 Noon. The award is conferred upon a member of the World Trade Center who has achieved exceptional international distinction in the cause of world peace, trade, and understanding.

Mrs. Boggs was appointed by President Clinton in 1997 as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and served in that position until 2001. Mrs. Boggs’ late husband, Hale, the Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, disappeared in a plane over Alaska in 1972. Mrs. Boggs was elected to his seat and served nine terms in the House of Representatives from New Orleans.

During her service, she achieved a number of firsts. She was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives from Louisiana; the first woman to serve as Regent of the Smithsonian Institute; the first woman to preside over a national convention (the Democratic National Convention in 1976); the first woman to receive the Congressional Medal from the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and the first woman to receive a Tulane University Distinguished and Outstanding Alumni Award.

For registration details about the January 28 luncheon program, call the WTC at (504) 529-1601, ext. 222.

VIETNAM EXPO 2003 TO BE HELD IN APRIL

A U.S. Trade Delegation to Vietnam from April 4 to 14 is being organized by the Vietnam Resource Group in conjunction with the Vietnam EXPO 2003 to make it the most effective way for U.S. companies to outsource products and to market U.S. products in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Expo 2003 will be hosted by The Ministry of Trade April 9 to 13 in Hanoi. This event is the largest exhibition of Vietnamese industries and manufacturers in Vietnam.

Under the theme of "Vietnam: Potential and Integration"- Vietnam Expo 2003 will provide international participants with a one-stop approach to meet and network with decision makers of all major industries and manufacturers of various products.

In addition, the organizer, the Vietnam Exhibition & Advertising Company (VINEXAD), will also set up number of workshops and roundtable meetings to provide participants with information and assistance in exporting/importing from and to Vietnam.

To receive a registration packet and for additional information, please contact VINEXAD’s Representative in the U.S.: Bill Benton at (510) 524-3432 or send an e-mail to us2vietnam@aol.com