After several weeks of deliberation, the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) Congress Selection Committee has announced that Kuala Lumpur will host the 6th World Chambers Congress in 2009.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) narrowly beat strong contender Commerce Queensland, which had proposed Brisbane as a congress venue.

Bids were also received from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan.

“Choosing a candidate was not an easy task for the members of our Congress Selection Committee as each chamber had so much to offer as host the 2009 Congress,” said WCF Chairman Rona Yircali.

“Each bid was unique, and each organization should be extremely proud of their commitment and support of WCF.

“It’s true that in the end it was a tough decision between FMM and Commerce Queensland. A series of small but important issues resulted in Kuala Lumpur being chosen as our host for the 2009 congress and I offer my congratulations to everyone involved in producing their bid.”

In his acceptance speech in New Delhi Datuk Mustafa Mansur, Past President of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers said:

“I would like to thank the WCF Congress Selection Committee for honour given to Malaysia to host the 6th World Chambers Congress 2009 in the city of Kuala Lumpur. It is our objective to bring chambers from South East Asia to network with global chambers from Europe, North & South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands and the Far East.”

The success of the congress has already taken its schedule well into the next decade. Chambers from the Americas, Africa and Europe are already registering their interest to host the congress in 2011, 2013 and 2015 when it returns to those regions. 2009 will be the first time the congress is held in South East Asia.

The WCF Congress Selection Committee was made up of previous congress hosts and members of the global chamber of commerce community. The winner was announced today at a WCF meeting in New Delhi.

The World Chambers Congress is the only event of its size and scope bringing chambers of all sizes and nationalities together. The congress is a forum for them to share best practices, develop networks and learn about new areas of innovation from other chambers as they face the challenge of remaining relevant to companies in their region.

The last congress in South Africa saw chamber leaders and executives attending from over 90 countries.

Istanbul will play host to the biennial congress in 2007

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