The US-Angola Chamber of Commerce achieved two significant milestones during the first half of 2005. The first major accomplishment was to establish an independent presence in Luanda. During the last several years, the Chamber received outstanding support from Chevron in representing our interests in Angola and we are indebted to the team at Chevron for the many ways in which they have helped us over the years. It is gratifying to know that we can continue to count on Chevron to support our programs and activities in Luanda and Washington.

However, it was increasingly clear that Angola was entering a new phase with the advent of peace and the opening up of new opportunities for investment and trade between the United States and Angola. In order for the Chamber to keep abreast with these developments, the Chairman and the Board of Directors recognized the Chamber needed to open its own office in Luanda. Fortunately, Liliana de Sousa was available to take on this task in addition to running her company, Menshen. Liliana had served as the Chamber’s representative for nine years during her tenure with Equator Bank and had brought great energy, enthusiasm and determination to the various programs of the Chamber. Even when she no longer served as our representative, she assisted the Chamber in many ways. For example, it would not have been possible to organize the Gala Dinner last December without her superb support.

Liliana officially became the Chamber’s representative at the beginning of March 2005. She is now in the process of setting up her own office in Luanda. Menshen and the USACC will move into their new facilities in October 2005. Conveniently located, the address is Rua N'Dunduma nº155 1º Esq. Updated telephone numbers will be provided closer to the date of the transfer to the new office. Menshen is a Microsoft Partner and provides IT services, specifically, consultancy & support to networking systems, training and software licensing. Paula Morais has joined her office and will assist the Chamber in its various activities. We are delighted to have her as part of the team.

The second major accomplishment was holding the Business Symposium in Luanda at the Hotel Tropico, May 4-5 2005, in cooperation with our sister organization, the Angola Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A full report on the Business Symposium can be found on the Chamber’s website(www.us-angola.org) or by clicking the following link: 2005 Business Symposium.

There are several points to be made about the symposium. The first is the indispensable role that Liliana and Paula played in making the event happen. It simply could not have been done without them. It further demonstrated and confirmed the importance of establishing a Chamber office in Luanda. The second point is that the Business Symposium was a new initiative and plowed new ground. The objective was to bring together representatives of government and the private sector for a discussion of important issues affecting the business climate in Angola. The panels represented a mix of government and business, though the private sector was deliberately highlighted. The third factor was that the symposium took place against the backdrop of the outbreak of Marburg in Angola. We debated whether to proceed in view of the concerns Marburg raised but, in the end, decided to go ahead and not risk another postponement. A number of American companies had expressed interest in attending the symposium but dropped out because of Marburg. Despite this unfortunate but understandable development, the symposium was well attended and the feedback we received was positive.

I would like to thank the major sponsors of the Business Symposium: BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil. They made the event happen. In addition, we are grateful to the event sponsors: BAI, BCI, Devon Energy, MITC, and S&N Pump. And, of course, we wish to thank all those who participated for making this event a success.

Elsewhere in this newsletter, other activities of the Chamber during this period are covered. They include the Working Group meetings, the Annual and Board Meetings, and a listing of new members. Finally, I would note that we have decided to post the newsletter only on our website in order to cut costs of production and to reach the increasing number of members resident in Angola.