Arab trade delegation to make two-day stop in Utah

More than 40 business and government leaders from six countries in the Middle East and North Africa will be in Salt Lake City Monday and Tuesday for what is billed as a "High Tech Road Show."

A networking meeting for Utah businesses interested in building trade or investment ties in those regions will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday at the Marriott Hotel at City Creek.

The next day, the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development will take the visiting delegates on a tour of information technology and software companies in Salt Lake City, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, South Jordan, American Fork, Orem and Provo.

This is the seventh year the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, based in Washington, D.C. with an office in Salt Lake City, has organized a tour promoting trade and investment opportunities.

"The High Tech Road Show has become a showcase and a preeminent vehicle for promoting the transfer of technology and knowledge between the United States and the Arab World," said David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

This year's delegation has a sizable Libyan presence, with representatives from banks, oil companies, airlines and aerospace firms, communications and IT companies and government ministries, said GOED spokesman Michael Sullivan.

Saudi Arabian interests include a food and entertainment company, one of the leading transportation companies in the Persian Gulf region and an architecture and design company.

Other delegates are from of Servicom, a Tunisian-based telecom and technology company, the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Qatar Olympic Committee and the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority.

World Trade Center Utah and the Utah Export Assistance Center are helping with this stop on the tour, which goes on to Las Vegas and the Silicon Valley in California.

mikeg@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mikegsltrib