Zahleh Municipal Delegation Visits Santa Fe, New Mexico

Zahleh Delegation in front of the Department of Tourism in Santa Fe – New Mexico.(L to R Mr. Salim Wardy, Mayor Zogaib, Council Members Salim Kimaz and Sami El Teeny, Mr. Mahmoud Batlouni.

A delegation of prominent officials and business leaders headed by Zahleh Mayor Assad Zogaib met with local and state officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico June 18-24, 2006 to discuss a potential exchange of expertise and creation of collaborative programs in areas such as economic development, environmental protection, culture, and education.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development under the three-year $17 million municipal assistance program, the Zahleh delegation’s visit to the US supports a key project component focused on developing a greater role for citizens in shaping public policy, in part through the establishment of cooperative agreements to ‘twin’ cities in the U.S. and Lebanon.

In addition to Mayor Zogaib, the delegation included Zahleh Council Members Sami El Teeny and Salim Kimaz, Mr. Salim Wardy, General Manager of Société Libanaise de Fermentation et de Distillation (Domaine Wardy), and Lebanon Country Director for SUNY/CLD Mahmoud Batlouni who represented the University during the official visit.

Separate meetings were held with Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and with Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Tourism Department Michael Cerletti. A number of ranking officials from the New Mexico Tourism Department, the New Mexico Department of Economic Development, the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, as well as the US Export Assistance Center attended the meetings with the delegation.

Members of the delegation were guests of honor at receptions organized in Santa Fe and Albuquerque by prominent Lebanese Americans and attended by leading members of the business and cultural communities. Visits were also made to a number of museums and a major winery to discuss the possibility of cultural and commercial exchange programs in the future.