The World Council of the International Chamber of Commerce today welcomed two new members, the national committees of ICC Dominican Republic and ICC Guatemala.

This important enlargement of the ICC family extends the message of open international trade in the Caribbean and Central America, said Maria Livanos Cattaui, ICC Secretary General.

The Dominican Republic has a long history: Christopher Columbus landed on the island during his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. The republic's chamber of commerce was established in 1848, making it one of the oldest in the region. Its economy grew by a remarkable 7% plus in 1998-2000, although it has not again reached such heights. However, as a result of tourism and free-trade zones the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the country's largest employer. The chamber is a member of the National Council for Private Enterprise, which groups more than 60 national business associations and many leading companies. Jose Manuel Armenteros has been made chairman of ICC Dominican Republic.

Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries. It is slowly recovering from a civil war that lasted for 36 years until 1996, the longest in Latin American history. ICC Guatemala will be housed by the Guatemala Chamber of Industry, one of the leading business organizations in the country with more than 1,500 members. Jaime Arimany will be the chairman of the national committee, and Ricardo Sagastume its secretary general.

The World Council, ICC's supreme governing body, met in Durban on the occasion of the World Chambers Congress, a gathering of some 800 business people from 88 countries.