Saudi Committee for International Trade (CIT) Secretary General, Eng. Omar Bahlaiwa, has been appointed Acting Secretary General of the Council of Saudi Chambers, replacing Khalid Al-Otaibi.
Eng. Bahlaiwa, who will continue to serve as Secretary General of CIT which is within the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce (CSC), was appointed by CSC Chairman, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Zamil. The position took effect on April 10th.
Eng. Omar Bahlaiwa and Khalid Al-Otaibi in Riyadh.
Mr. Bahlaiwa is a well-known and well-regarded figure in the Saudi business community and serves on several advisory boards, including the The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), and is also a board member of the Islamic Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA).
Mr. Bahlaiwa is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi-US Trade Group (SUSTG).
Mr. Bahlaiwa attended Georgia Tech University and studied engineering, and currently lives in Riyadh. In addition to helping to manage a number of successful private enterprises, Mr. Bahlaiwa has spent much of his career enhancing and promoting Saudi Arabia’s image internationally, receiving prominent delegations to the Kingdom as well as leading or participating in delegations to Europe, the United States and North America, other key OECD countries, China, Japan and other nations.
Omar Bahlaiwa with Khalid El-Seif in the United Kingdom.
Bahlaiwa is well known as a deft event organizer. In his capacity as CIT Secretary General, he was the primary strategist and key organizer of the series of U.S.-Saudi Business Opportunities Forums held in the United States (Chicago 2010, Atlanta 2011, Los Angeles 2013).
He also spearheaded a major U.S.-Saudi Policy Forum 2009. That forum, entitled “U.S.-Saudi Relations In a World Without Equilibrium” featured high-level US and Saudi participation and received enormous media attention with over 50 US and Arab outlets covering the proceedings. Despite being invitation-only to a limited list, over 400 people registered. With a 300-person capacity, the conference room was standing room only from 9am until final comments at 4pm. Luncheon remarks were carried by C-SPAN and the entire conference was live-streamed on the New America Foundation website.
Eng. Bahlaiwa with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Josh Kram in Riyadh.
Currently, Mr. Bahlaiwa is a key liaison between the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as they collaborate on a range of high-profile initiatives such as the U.S.-Saudi CEO Summit held in Riyadh on January 24, 2016. Coordination and cooperation between the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has grown considerably since an MOU between the two Chambers was signed in March 2014.
Following his appointment Mr. Bahlaiwa said: “I ask God Almighty to help me to do this commissioning and performance of the Secretariat as required in accordance with the directives of our wise leadership and achieve the aspirations of the Saudi business sector in order to serve our beloved country.”
