about-ali

Who We Are

INTRODUCTION THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THE ADMINISTRATION ALI'S COUNCILS & COMMITTTEES ALI REPRESENTATION POLICY AGENDA

The Association

The Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) was established in 1942 as the main national entity representing manufacturing companies operating in Lebanon. It addresses economic and social issues that industrialists face, and advocates for industrial development across all Lebanese regions. The Association seeks to create and maintain an environment that is favorable to industrial investment, job creation, growth, and development.

ALI represents the Lebanese Industry and conveys the needs and recommendations of the industrial community to trade unions, public institutions, the Parliament, the Government, and local and international organizations and stakeholders.

ALI actively participates in shaping national policies on a range of issues, including economic and social policy, labor legislation and industrial relations, social security and health care, taxation, policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, education, research and technology, and the environment. As of 2021, ALI represents more than 850 Lebanese industrialists.

Our Vision

Our vision is to build a globally competitive industrial sector by answering local manufacturing needs and empowering Lebanese industrialists to satisfy the local market, attract foreign demand, and become a regional and international hub for manufacturers worldwide. Our vision is built around deeply-rooted objectives that the Association has established since its foundation. Some of our strategic objectives include:

  • MODERNIZING LEBANESE PRODUCTION AND SUPPORTING NEW INDUSTRIES.
  • Raising the public’s awareness of the importance of Lebanese manufacturing and its role in developing the nation.
  • Protecting the interests and the rights of the Lebanese Industry.
  • Reducing the national trade deficit by increasing exports through the Exports Development Council.

Our Mission

To protect and promote the interests of Lebanese Industry, vis-à-vis local, national, regional, and international institutions, authorities, and governments by being:

The Association’s fundamental aim is to promote and maintain an environment favorable to manufacturing businesses in the context of a competitive market economy.

  • The major industrial lobby group in Lebanon.
  • A multi-faceted, full-fledged service provider for the industrial sector and its members.
  • The center for industrial studies and statistics.
  • The main representative of Lebanese industrialists in national and international circles.

Our Activities

The Association plays a major role in economic and social policy matters and is actively committed to fostering the development of Lebanese industries and supporting their response to the challenges of global competition and international integration. Faced with the prospect of globalization, ALI strives to improve the business environment, reduce the various burdens placed on industrial firms, and reform Lebanon’s labor market. Achieving these goals will help to accelerate the structural reforms needed to create growth and employment, and make a major contribution to the modernization and globalization of the Lebanese economy.

Our activities involve cross-sectoral initiatives that aim to upgrade the local Industry’s capabilities and enhance its output. Our strategic actions are planned on different axes and contain several measures such as:

  • Substituting imports by increasing local production and pushing for public institutions to use local products, which would create hundreds of new job opportunities.
  • Boosting exports by leveraging successful industries such as Agrofood.
  • Supporting alternative green energy efforts.
  • Attracting mega industries to the country such as car manufacturing.
  • Leveraging Industry 4.0 opportunities by investing in the upcoming generation of local technological experts who are backed by esteemed educational backgrounds.
  • Reviving traditional sectors through various internationally-funded programs.
  • Assisting SMEs in restructuring their business models to increase their scaling capacity and penetrate the international market.

Introduction

The Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body of the Association


Departments

1.

Top Management

Establishes policies, strategic objectives, and provides overall leadership and direction

2.

Representative Office at Ministry of Industry

Acts as the focal point concerning all matters involving the Ministry

3.

Administrative Registrar

Processes all administrative matters pertaining to ALI and its members

4.

Quality

Oversees quality assurance and assists members in reaching quality standards

5.

Accounting and Procurement

Handles ALI’s accounting records and procurement activities

6.

Statistics

Provides industry-specific figures for the Association and its members

7.

Environment and Energy

Oversees and coordinates projects related to energy and environment

8.

Membership

Recruits, engages, and retains members

9.

Social and Labor Affairs

Administers all matters relating to social and labor affairs

ALI’s Committees

The Association works on multiple fronts and across different levels. Each specialized committee focuses on its own role for the common goal of strengthening and supporting Lebanese Industrialists.

ALI Finance Committee

Advertising and Marketing Committee

President: Mr. Mazen Sinno
  • Mr. Ziad Bekdache

Affiliation and Classification Committee

President: Mr. Walid Assaf
  • Mr. Georges Nasraoui
  • Mr. Ibrahim Mallah
  • Mr. Ousama Halbawi
  • Mr. Mazen Sinno
  • Mr. Sakher Azar
  • Mr. Laurent Tufenkijian

Communication with International Organizations and Donors "Taskforce"

Council of Industrial Sectors

Mr. Georges Nasraoui

Council of Industrial Zones

Mr. Ziad Bekdache

Exhibitions Committee

Export Promotion Council

Mr. Mounir Bissat

Industrial Zones Committee

Social Affairs Committee

Dr. Ahmad Jaber

Sustainable Development and Energy /Environment Committee

National Level

The Association actively participates and plays a major role in several national entities such as:

National Council for Price Policy

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Salim Zeenni

The Courts of Labor Arbitration

The Economic and Social Council

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Chawki Daccache
  • Mr. Georges Nasraoui

The Foreign Agreements Committee

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Joseph Daniel Abboud
  • Mr. Mounir Bissat

The Index Committee

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Ziad Bekdache

The Industrial Research Institute

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Salim Zeenni

The Joint Committee on Vocational and Technical Curriculum Development

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Paul Abi Nasr

The Lebanese Standards Institute

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Ibrahim Mallah
  • Mr. Joseph Daniel Abboud

The Lebanon Environmental Pollution Abatement Project

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Talal Hijazi

The Monitoring Cell with the Ministry of Labor

The National Council for Consumer Protection

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Talal Hijazi

The National Employment Office

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Nazareth Sabounjian

The National Metrology Council

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Antoine Baroud

The National Social Security Fund

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Ghazi Yehya
  • Mr. Hani Abou Jaoudeh

The Vocational Training Center

ALI representatives:
  • Mr. Said Hamadeh

Arab World

The Association works with different stakeholders in the Arab world such as:

The Arab Labor Organization

ALI representatives:
  • Mounir Bissat
  • Dr. Ahmad Jaber
  • Sahar Ghaddar

The Arab Federation for Food Industries

The Arab Industrial Development, Standardization, and Mining Organization

International Level

The Association actively cooperates with multiple international entities, including:

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

ALI representatives:
  • Talal Hijazi

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

The International Labour Organization (ILO)

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the United Nations agency for the world of work.

It sets international labour standards, promote economies that generate opportunities for investment, skills development and job creation, support the development of sustainable social protection systems and promote social dialogue. The ILO has a unique structure: it brings together governments, employers’ and workers’ representatives. The Association of Lebanese Industrialist is the ILO employer constituent in Lebanon and it is actively participating to the annually held International Labour Conference.Mr Mounir Bsat, ALI Board member, has been recently elected ILO Governing Body Member for the period 2021-2024.

For more info on the ILO www.ilo.org
For more info on the ILO in Lebanon

ALI representatives:
  • Salim Zeenni
  • Mounir Bissat
  • Dr. Ahmad Jaber

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The World Bank

ALI representatives:
  • Salim Zeenni

The International Organisation of Employers (IOE)

ALI representatives:
  • Salim Zeenni
  • Mounir Bissat
  • Dr. Ahmad Jaber

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

ALI representatives:
  • Salim Zeenni

Furthermore, the Association maintains close working relations with Arab and international chambers of commerce and industrial associations.

about-ali

How The Industrial Sector Can Save Lebanon

Letter from the chairman of borad, Salim Zeenni

Lebanon has been navigating one of the worst socio-economic crises in the world and a proper assessment of what took us down this path is crucial to formulate a strategy that will lead us back to prosperity and growth Decades of economic mismanagement, political instability and a lack of vision has taken its toll on the country. The unmanageable trade and state deficits have resulted in a chronic balance of payment problem. Meanwhile the central bank continued implementing a currency peg of the Lebanese Lira to the US Dollar, in an apparent effort to keep a semblance of stability. The result of these policies has been an indirect subsidy of imports, an increase of interest rates and a crowding out of the private sector. Cost of production was driven to unsustainable levels which, in turn, resulted in more imports, exacerbating the trade imbalance. Subsequent governments and the central bank were basically burning through deposits to sustain a deeply flawed system.

The association has long been lobbying and fighting for the adoption of a more balanced economic model, centered around the productive sectors.

It has released a multitude of position papers and communicated them to all the echelons of government hoping for a change of course before reaching the point of collapse we have dreaded. It is now clear to all, that our approach was not that of a sector looking to increase its profits but rather one that was meant to grow the whole economy, improving every sector in the process.

While we acknowledge the depth of the economic and financial crisis, we also believe we can turn it around.

Lebanon can recover, Lebanon will recover.

Throughout this document, we have tackled the necessary policy reforms to take the country out of its vicious spiral and unto a virtuous cycle. If we implement them swiftly and decisively, the manufacturing sector will rapidly expand, generating GDP growth and creating thousands of jobs in the process. The only way to solve the currency conundrum is by addressing the large trade deficit. We believe that a strong, resurgent sector will be able to exponentially increase its exports while offsetting some of the imports by producing them locally. Lebanon has a limitless manufacturing potential; these policy proposals will unleash it. The private sector, with the industrialists at its forefront, is the only one capable of rebuilding an economy that grows continuously and fairly. An economy that leverages the incredible energy of our youth and their entrepreneurial spirit.

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