The U.S. Department of Commerce's Export Promotion Services’ Matchmaker Program, in cooperation with the Office of Environmental Technologies Industries, is organizing an Environmental Technologies Matchmaker Trade Delegation to Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. The Matchmaker will target the environmental technologies industry and focus on matching participating U.S. companies with qualified agents, distributors, representatives, licensees, and joint venture partners in these markets.

Egypt represents a significant and growing market for exports of U.S. environmental technologies. The government of Egypt has recently taken important steps to strengthen its legal and institutional framework for environmental management. Law 4 of 1994 created the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and established standards, requirements, and enforcement mechanisms. After the expiration of a grace period in 1998, the government began to levy financial and operational fines against companies not in compliance with environmental law. The Egyptian government has also announced a $26 billion program aimed at enforcement of new environmental standards. The overall environmental technologies and services market in Egypt was estimated at US $680 million in 1998. This market is growing at an estimated 10 percent per year and is expected to sustain growth over the next five years. Municipal water supply and wastewater treatment constitute the largest, and fastest growing market segment at an estimated US $480 million. Environmental consulting (at US $60 million in 1998), hazardous waste (at $30 million), and stationary air pollution control (at $25 million) are also attractive sectors for U.S. exporters.

In Israel, a new awareness for the environment among policy-makers and the public is opening commercial opportunities in environmental technologies. Since the 1992 Rio Conference, the concept of sustainable development has been integrated into Israel's environmental management platform. Reflecting this trend, Israel’s Ministry of Environment has seen dramatic budget increases in the last decade, from US $8 million in 1992 to nearly US $434 million in 1998. The Israeli environmental sector lacks the technological solutions to a number of environmental concerns. Water scarcity and the treatment of water is one of Israel’s most crucial environmental challenges. Best prospects for U.S. firms lie in water treatment, wastewater and recycling, hazardous waste treatment, and air pollution controls and technologies.

The scarcity of water in Jordan threatens public health, economic development, and political stability. While water resources have remained nearly stationary, the country’s population has continued to rise. This trend is expected to continue and the gap is expected to widen. To address these factors, Jordan’s Ministry of Water recently unveiled a package of projects that will total an estimated US $5 billion through 2010. In addition to the establishment and maintenance of water infrastructure, other projects will include storage dams, wastewater treatment and reuse, rehabilitation of distribution systems, and improving urban water supplies. Since Jordan’s water situation is exacerbated by the fact that it shares most of its water resources with neighboring countries, its solutions likewise involve regional cooperation.

The Matchmaker’s goal is to gain first-hand market information and provide access to key government officials and potential business partners for new-to-market, and/or new-to-export U.S. environmental technologies firms desiring to enter these markets.

Participants will spend two days in Cairo, Egypt, two days in Tel Aviv, Israel where they will be a part of a large state sponsored regional environmental trade show, and one day in Amman, Jordan. At each stop, the Commercial Service will provide an extensive market briefing highlighting opportunities, schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business partners for each participant, and arrange a reception to introduce the participants to key business and government officials in the telecommunications equipment and services industries. The precise schedule will depend on the availability of local government and business officials as well as the specific goals of mission participants.

Mission participants will arrive in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, April 28; participants will have two days of business meetings (April 29-30) in Cairo. The mission will travel to Tel Aviv the evening of April 30. May 1 and 2 the members will have meetings during the day. Meetings will be held at the show site of ENVIRONMENT 2001, a regional environmental trade show and seminar. Environment 2001 is sponsored by the Israel Office of the Environment and is projected to draw in delegations from around the regions. The mission will conclude in Amman with one day of meetings on May 3.

The Matchmaker will be promoted through, but not limited to, the following venues: Commercial Service Export Assistance Centers and Teams, relevant trade publications, and other relevant trade associations, various in-house and purchased industry lists, and Export America. The Matchmaker also will be listed on ITA’s Internet home page, and in the Federal Register.

Recruitment will begin immediately and will close on March 2, 2001. The Matchmaker target is 15 companies.

The participation fee for the event will be $2,950 per company.

• Relevance of the company’s business line to the mission goals;
• Potential for business in the selected markets;
• Timeliness of the company’s completed participation application and payment of the mission participation fee;
• Provision of adequate information on the company’s products and/or services and communication of the company’s primary objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business partners;

• Certification that the company meets Departmental guidelines for participation, including certification that the company’s products and/or services are manufactured or produced in the United States or if manufactured/produced outside of the United States, the products/services must be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content representing at least fifty-one percent of the value of the finished goods or services.

Any partisan political activities (including political contributions) of an applicant are entirely irrelevant to the selection process.