Minister of Industry Mr. George Bouchikian said that, Mr. Ali Mahmoud El Abdallah, the head of the Amaco Group, is an industrialist who managed to achieve an advanced vision in the industrial world and that the path he chose indicates a vision that focuses not only on manufacturing products but also on manufacturing machines and equipment that manufacture products. Minister Bouchikian pointed out that what we need today in Lebanon is this type of modern industry, because it helps us achieve an integrated industrial cycle and national sufficiency, and also contributes to supporting the Lebanese economy as a whole. Minister Mr. Bouchikian’s words during an honoring ceremony Mr. Ali El Abdallah, Chairman of the Amaco Group, at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida and the south.
The President of the European Union of Corrugated Cardboard Manufacturers, Dr. Fadi Gemayel, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Saida and the south, Mr. Mohamad Hassan Saleh, and a number of members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, founder and partner in the Grand Stores Company in Saudi Arabia Mr.Walid Shehadeh participated in the honoring ceremony. The honoring ceremony was attended by a large number of political and economic figures, ambassadors, and references, including the former Minister of Industry, Dr. Emad Hoballah, and the deputies: Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri, Mr.Walid Al-Baarini, Mr. Ali Oseiran , Mrs. Ghada Ayoub , Dr. Osama Saad, and Mr. Hani Qubaisi represented by Mr. Jamal Jouni, Mrs. Bahia Al-Hariri represented by the President of the Saida Merchants Association and its environs Mr. Ali Al-Sharif, and former deputy Mr. Hadi Hobeish.
Participants from the embassies and diplomatic representation were the Ambassador of Morocco Mr. Mohamed Egreen, the Ambassador of Tunisia Mr. Bourawi Al-Imam, the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman Dr. Ahmed bin Mohamed Al-Seeidi, the Chinese Ambassador represented by Mr. Wang Gang, Head of the Commercial Department at the Iraqi Embassy Mr. Hassanein Mohamad Saad and the representative of the Nigerian Embassy Mr. Adamo Yabani.
Also, participating in the ceremony were the CEO of Bel Papyrus Impex Mr. Riad Baloukji, the President of the Union of Mount Lebanon Traders Sheikh Nassib Gemayel, the Mayor of Saida Mr. Mohamad Al-Saudi, the Assistant Director General of the Industrial Research Institute Eng. Maroun Saykali, President of the Industrialists’ Association of Choueifat and Surroundings Mr. Joe Boustani, President of the Syndicate of Food Industries Mr. Mounir Bsat, Vice President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists Mr. George Nasraoui and Director of the Association Mr. Talal Hijazi, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida and the South Mr. Omar Dandashli, , from the Scientific Center for Manufacturing and Production Mr. Ali Al-Shuhimi Brigadier General Mr. Marcel Baloukji, CEO of the Economics and Business Group Mr. Raouf Abu Zaki, and President of the Lebanese Businessmen and Women Association in Jeddah Eng. Mohamad Bashar El-Abdallah, From the commercial office at the Turkish Embassy, Mr. Elie Reaidy, Secretary of the Industrialists’ Assembly of Choueifat and its surrounding Eng. Tarek Abou Chakra, Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Industrial Engineering in Saida Dr. Mohamad Al-Hajjar, and mayors Mr. George Saad, and a group of figures, businessmen.
Minister Bouchikian: This is the Lebanese success
Minister Mr. Bouchikian began his speech by stating that honoring Mr. Ali El Abdallah is because he has a long-term vision in the world of industry, and he added: “Today we meet because of a request from the Ministry of Industry to honor the industrialist Mr. Ali El Abdallah, and he deserves to be honored for many professional, industrial, ethical and social reasons. I also heard from an industrialist’s fellow, that in the past, Mr. Ali El Abdallah used to buy raw materials from the industrialists, but today they buy industrial machines and equipment from him, which were manufactured in Lebanon through Lebanese innovation and Lebanese design, and this is the Lebanese success, creativity, progress, and limitless ambition. In addition to his commitment to industrial work and its development and improving it. He is also committed to helping his environment, society, and surroundings based on his faith and love for giving. Mr. Ali El Abdallah is an exemplary and self-made industrialist, and I invite every industrialist who wants to achieve development to follow his example, especially in his career and sacrifices. I also will use this occasion to salute the efforts of President Mr. Mohamed Salih, during whose reign the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Saida and the south developed and became a business hub, an investment incubator, and entrepreneurs’ encouragement. This economic interaction and developmental cohesion make the south, which is dear to the Lebanese hearts, an attractive and suitable environment for attracting productive projects, especially the integration between industry and agriculture.
I renew my gratitude to my friend Mr. Ali El Abdallah CEO of Amaco, and I wish him success.
Fadi Gemayel: a distinguished industrialist and a distinguished Champion
As for Dr. Fadi Gemayel, he said: “I had the honor to be chairing the Association of Industrialists, and I was able to get closer to the industrialists whom I have always considered them heroes of Lebanese economy, and they are also true heroes. The industrialist himself is also a skilled trader, a committed manager, and a producer who coordinates his team, designs his production, and innovates within all the fields at the same time. In addition to all these challenges, the industrialist motivates his team to work in the light of the difficult circumstances we are going through in Lebanon. Our honorable colleague today, Mr. Ali El Abdallah, is a distinguished industrialist and a distinguished hero because he has gone through the experience of advanced industries, not only for converting paper, but rather, to manufacturing the machines that convert paper, and this matter itself is a responsibility and a merit. He made an example of the industrialist success who relied on our proven components, which are the technical capabilities of our youth. Although raw materials are limited in Lebanon, our greatest wealth lies in the capabilities of our youth, whether in innovation or in the determination to achieve success, and this is precisely what Mr. Ali El Abdallah did in his industrial group. Despite all the circumstances, he leveled up Lebanon through high exports and products that reached all Arab, African, and other countries in the East, West, North, and South, all the way to Argentina. He also has a distinguished presence in specialized international exhibitions, whether in Tissue World, where he lifted the name of Lebanon with his active presence, and he used to lift the name Lebanon in all these exhibitions and stations.
He added, “At the same time, he went through his experience in the most difficult circumstances and did not give up in his life. His constant concern is to develop his production and his team. And when his institution was severely damaged in the catastrophic Beirut port explosion, he was never late and took the initiative to rehabilitate and launch his center with the same determination. This positive spirit comes as a result of what he enjoys, so he spreads positivity everywhere he is found, whether in the Syndicate of Owners of Paper Industries, of which he is an active member and on its board of directors, or in the Arab Federation for Paper Industries, Printing, and Packaging.
He concluded by saying: “I am proud to participate in this occasion, and today I am here to participate in a public event after a 3-year of absence, to be with him on this occasion. I thank His Excellency the Minister of Industry, who loved to honor him because he deserves to be honored. We, as industrialists today, represent Lebanon’s hope because we form the solution, and we give hope to our youth in a prosperous country that activates all its capabilities. It is true that Lebanon is a small country, but thanks to its champion industrialists, it constitutes a country of great opportunities.”
Mohamad Saleh: a leader and an industrialist fighter
Mohamad Saleh said: “I am pleased to stand among dear brothers and honorable colleagues to honor the friend Mr. Ali El Abdallah. We met as industrialists and agreed that industry builds homelands, and we brought together ambition and innovative work. On this occasion, I can only refer to the leadership role of the honored industrialist fighter who started from his surrounding in Akkar to continue industrializing in his homeland and at the gate of the south, entering a world of the paper industry through its wide door and establishing the leading Amaco Group in the manufacturing of equipment and paper products in Lebanon, the Arab countries, Africa and Europe. I also refer to the permanent and effective presence of Mr. Ali El Abdallah on the level of Lebanese-Chinese, Lebanese-Arab relations and with the Lebanese community in African countries. I wish my brother and friend Mr. Ali that all conditions will be available for him to be able to make his dreams into effective efforts that serve the industry and industrialists in Lebanon, based on his distinguished relations with our brothers in the Arab countries, and on his position as president of the Lebanese-Chinese businessmen and women association”.
Ali El Abdallah: Industry is the lifeboat
After that, Mr. Ali El Abdallah said: “before preparing my speech, a very important matter aroused my attention, that is my honoring by His Excellency the Minister of Industry is a tribute to all of you, because without your trust and the trust of international companies in the Amaco Group, I would not have deserved the honor, because you all are partners in my journey and my honor. Therefore, I congratulate you, my family, and the Amaco family on this honor. Allow me to address, on your behalf and mine, Minister Bouchikian, to express my gratitude and appreciation for this ceremony that has honored me. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Saida and the South Muhammad Saleh, who embodied with me the proverb that says: “The Unfailing friend”. I thank you all for your participation today. Your presence gives this occasion an incomparable value.
He added, “For nearly half a century, I have been immersed in business in Lebanon, with its ups and downs, its risks under the occupation of the Israeli enemy, where I slept to the sound of missiles and woke up to the sound of artillery, and its opportunities following the end of the civil war and the launch of the economic recovery plan led by the martyr President Rafik Hariri, may God have mercy on him. During the past five decades, I am convinced that the Lebanese are born with an unbridled desire for success and excellence, for innovation and problem-solving, for joy and distinction, for steadfastness and victory. Perhaps it is these qualities that taught us how to turn the gloom of economic collapse into a determination to rise, especially in the industrial sector. Which I consider the real lifeboat in our current crisis.
He continued, saying: “Our current national crisis is not only the result of our miscalculations and our analysis of the data of a new era of international relations and interests and the weakness of our regional and international relations. The worst part of our crisis is what the writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy expressed when he said: “Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to change himself.”
He said, “However, despite the blurring of the Lebanese scene, I see the light at the end of the dark tunnel. We have an opportunity as a result of the great international changes, but we have to reconsider Lebanon’s role and identity.”
In order to build our new identity and redefine our strategic interests we have to ask ourselves the question: what added value Lebanon can offer to the world? The successful equation for the resurrection of Lebanon must be based on a fair evaluation of our losses, reconciliation between our national and expatriate components, and the restoration of our Arab and international relations to their normal course. Then proceed with the development of our physical, digital, and technological industries based on our human resources and innovative skills, leading to knocking on the doors of artificial intelligence, developing our natural and tourism resources and distinguished services, and providing stability, security, and an independent judiciary.
He concluded by saying, “I have no doubt that we will overcome the challenges together, and we will build a new Lebanon with an identity and a role that keeps pace with developments, based on our internal partnership and our Arab and international friendships. In conclusion, I reiterate my thanks and appreciation to His Excellency the friendly Minister George Bouchikian and the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Lebanon.” Saida and the South for hosting this party, and thanks to my friend and brother Dr. Fadi Gemayel, whom I accompanied for 30 years. Thank you all for your participation and continuous support. I look forward to a bright future for our country Lebanon, and I invite you all to steadfastness, optimism, positivity, and faith in our people, to get out of the crisis stronger and more solid.”
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