The South African city of Durban was yesterday named host of the 2005 World Chambers Congress - the biggest worldwide meeting of its kind.

Beating bids from cities all over the world, Durban was awarded the right to stage the congress during a meeting in Paris of the World Chambers Federation steering committee.

Speaking after the meeting, Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, Jeya Wilson, said she was "over the moon" at having won the right to stage the congress.

"Durban has been waiting for this announcement," she said. "It's not just Durban which has won today, but also the whole of Africa."

Durban has been actively lobbying for the congress since the 1st World Chambers Congress in Marseilles, France in 1999.

The World Chambers Congress, held every two years, brings together chamber of commerce executives from all over the world. The last congress, in Seoul, Korea attracted over 1,500 international business people. The next congress, to be held in September in Quebec City, Canada is expecting up to 2,000 participants.

The congress is administered by the World Chambers Federation - the chambers of commerce division of ICC:the world business organization.

"This couldn't have come at a better time for us," said Ms Wilson. "With NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development) still very high on the international agenda, this congress will continue to promote the idea of partnerships between the developing and developed world."

She added that the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry would try to expand the appeal of the congress by seeking to attract representatives "from a range of different sectors".

"We don't want this to simply be a congress for chambers and chamber executives," she said. "We want to try and attract participants fro m the education sector. Afterall, education and training are vital parts of any business venture."

WCF Director, Anthony Parkes, praised the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the quality of their bid.

"With each congress we have, the bar gets higher and higher," he said. "When it came to selecting the host city for the 4th World Chambers Congress, there was no doubt that Durban had put in the best bid."

The Durban bid was supported by SACOB (South African Chamber of Business) and NAFCOC (National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

The World Chambers Federation aims to stage the World Chambers Congress on a different continent every other year, allowing, as they say, "many more local chambers to participate and work with their colleagues who are more readily able to travel from other parts of the world."

The congress returns to Europe in 2007. Italy, Monaco, Turkey, Slovakia and Spain have all submitted bids to host the 5th World Chambers Congress.

WCF has already received bids to host the World Chambers Congress up to and including 2011.

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World Chambers Federation