ASCE and FLE sign cooperation agreement

Broomfield, Colo. — With the goal of promoting mutual cooperation and shared activities, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Federation of Lebanese Engineers (FLE) signed an Agreement of Cooperation (AOC), officially establishing communication and joint activities between the two preeminent engineering organizations.

Representatives at this occasion included Mr. Khaled Chehab, FLE President; Dr. Abdulmenhem Alameddine, Past Vice President of FLE and Vice President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations; Dr. Makram Suidan, M.ASCE, Dean of Engineering at the American University of Beirut and ASCE Lebanon Section President; the Honorable Ambassador Theodore Kattouf, President and CEO of AMIDEAST; and Dr. Paul Boulos, ASCE Distinguished Member and President of Innovyze.

The meeting with FLE was a follow-up to the ASCE presidential visit to Lebanon last June, when ASCE’s then-President Dr. Robert D. Stevens, P.E., F.ASCE and Dr. Paul Boulos held discussions with the leadership of FLE and ASCE Lebanon Section. ASCE and FLE have entered into this Agreement to facilitate the enhancements of the efforts of each organization to better serve the public and the engineering profession in its own country.

“This accord with ASCE is another major step forward for our Federation,” said Dr. Alameddine. “I look forward to a long-term relationship between our two prominent engineering societies dedicated to supporting our members, advancing our mutual goals, exchanging new technologies and information, and enhancing our noble profession.”

In 2013, ASCE formed an International Group in Lebanon with the support and assistance of the local Federation of Lebanese Engineers, becoming a Section in July 2015. Currently the group has more than 900 members with a large active contingent of students.

Founded in 1852, ASCE is the nation’s oldest engineering society. It represents more than 150,000 members of the civil engineering profession in 177 countries.

“ASCE is proud to be a signatory to the Agreement of Cooperation with the Federation of Lebanese Engineers,” said Mr. Thomas W. Smith III, ENV SP, CAE, F.ASCE, ASCE’s Executive Director. “We look forward to a long and productive relationship between the Federation of Lebanese Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, including further discussions about an international conference or other activities in Lebanon.”

Dr. Boulos added, “It was such an honor for me to present this milestone AOC on behalf of ASCE and to know that our successful cooperation with FLE will now offer members of both engineering organizations even greater opportunity and benefits. I believe this agreement will do even more to help both ASCE and FLE support their members and enhance the engineering profession.”