International Focus Magazine Prototype Edition | Page 51

Through its series of worldclass programming, the Bilateral
Chamber provides insight into
the economic and social climate
in both regions and access to the
solid relationships that are essential for producing positive outcomes for all stakeholders.
Our guest today is The founder
and CEO of the chamber, Tunisian-born Aida Araissi.
Sonia: Aida, How did you get
started in this venture?
Aida: It’s a round-a-bout story.
My family is known for journalism in the news world of Tunisia,
and I initially wanted to pursue a
career as a journalist in the exciting world of fashion. New York
it seemed was calling my name.
After a chance meeting with the
art director of Vogue magazine, I
learned that getting a job in fashion was all about insider politics,
being a member of the fashion “family” and not necessarily
about your journalism skills. It
just wasn’t for me, and since my
real passion is political science, I
soon found myself happier working in public relations where I was
introduced to the Arab/U.S. trade
community there. After a period
of growth, I was tapped to bring
policies from Washington D.C. to
the Bayou City and the rest is history. Once my plans for Houston
came together, I founded the bilateral chamber in 1997.
Sonia: Which brings us right to
it. Why the bilateral chamber and
what is significance of how you’ve
organized it? Why would someone
join the chamber?

Aida: In short, we are an organization of business people organized so our members can get information and make contacts that
are right on point when it comes
to reaching decision makers at a
very high level.

ganization. Sometimes they join
to just be in the room with larger
companies and the networking we
provide, for some that is enough.
Others may have a specific venture in mind. Let’s say, they want
to take a restaurant franchise into
a particular country, we’ll then
BUSACC is a Private organiza- focus on that to help guide them
tion — emphasis please on private to the right people and organizaas we are not funded by govt. — tions. For large scale situations,
and we are beholden only to our we may also have a program or
network of members and their series available that addresses their
best interests.
needs.
Sonia: I understand there is a
vetting process and team approach
driving the reason someone joins.
Aida: We don’t want someone to
join then walk away saying they
didn’t get any value from this organization because that leads others to think that, so we’re careful
on who we bring into the fold. To
that end, we gather a lot of information in an effort to understand
why they want to join and what
they want to get out of this or-

Sonia: what about the geopolitical
arena?
Aida: Politicians and the complex
geopolitics of the region are one
thing we leave to the Baker Institute and those who can bring that
weight to the political and diplomatic discourse. We’ve realized
that the private sector is where
we see mended relationships and
other benefits such as employment opportunities. Once people
are doing business together, this is
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