Center for Global Strategies to host Delegation from Yemen; Seeks to Strengthen Economic Ties with South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SC – August 15, 2007– Governor David M. Beasley, Chairman of the Board of The Center for Global Strategies (CGS), announces that CGS, along with South Carolina’s public/private sector, will host a delegation from Yemen in a weeklong mission designed to explore potential business, educational, tourism, and other partnerships with South Carolina.

The Yemeni officials will arrive Thursday, August 16, before embarking on a fact-finding trip that will include stops in Laurens, Myrtle Beach, Florence, Hilton Head, Charleston, and Columbia, SC.

Henry Deneen, Executive Director of CGS – which seeks to improve economic and cultural ties with emerging populations worldwide – said the center hopes to further strengthen a relationship that was established at conferences it organized in Yemen over the past year.

“We want to expose the delegation to some of the most vital sectors of South Carolina’s economy,” he explained. “By introducing Yemeni public officials to individuals in the public and private sectors here – and by helping to shape partnerships in government, industry, and trade – we can build a prosperous, mutually beneficial relationship.”

The trip, which winds up August 24, is scheduled to include:

·        A meeting with Gov. Mark Sanford

·        A meeting with Congressman Joe Wilson

·        A meeting with Columbia Mayor Bob Coble

·        A visit to the Wal-Mart distribution center in Laurens

·        A tour of the Grand Strand, including a briefing by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism

·        Discussions related to Middle East interests in South Carolina’s tourism sector

·        Events with the South Carolina Chamber, Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the S.C. Department of Commerce, the Central South Carolina Alliance, and the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business

·        A tour of manufacturing facilities in the Midlands

·        A presentation to the Midlands International Trade Association

·        Meetings and a tour at the Port of Charleston

·        Tours of a school, bank, and local businesses in the Columbia area

·        Briefings about South Carolina’s educational and judicial systems

About the Center for Global Strategies

Based in Columbia, S.C., the Center for Global Strategies connects isolated or emerging societies to the global economy primarily through private sector initiatives. It works with countries with which the United States currently or historically has had strained relations, including Vietnam, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Myanmar, and Turkmenistan – all of which have ports and are in strategic locations.

CGS engages these nations through conferences and training in economic development and other necessary society-building arenas, and by facilitating business activity between U.S. companies and the public and private sectors of those countries.

For further information, please call Henry Deneen, Executive Director (803.799.9965), or visit www.centerforglobalstrategies.org.