Nablus Chamber of Commerce and Industry main functions are to organize the interests of the private commercial, industrial and services sectors inside and outside the area, to protect these interests locally and abroad, to help members of these sectors develop and promote their businesses, to promote and enhance the export of national products, to build strong trade relations with foreign chambers, to issue different certificates including certificates of origin, to provide commercial publications and exchange commercial directories and to solve commercial disputes through arbitration.

The Chamber is governed by a council of twelve members elected every four years by the general assembly. The present council was elected in 1992 by an assembly of about two thousand members. Since then the number has risen up to about 4000, a quarter of which are industrial firms. The main industries are : Textile and ready made clothes, shoes, bags and handbags, wooden and metallic furniture, olive and vegetable oils, traditional soap, paints, aluminum profile, building stones, cement bricks and tiles, fruit juice, canned and pickled food.

Although economic development in Palestinian areas is being hampered at present by the procedures of the Israeli authorities, especially siege and closures of areas and the prevention of movement of goods and persons, every now and then, on the pretext of maintenance of security. However, we hope that such a situation will improve in the near future.

However, the Chamber appreciates and welcomes any support, whether material or informative which enables these sectors to prosper, either by training, joint ventures, technical information or marketing facilities. It also welcomes mutual cooperation with any other foreign chamber.

THESE FUNCTIONS ARE THE FOLLOWING:

1. To organize the commercial as well as the industrial interests in the community and to represent the interests of the business and enterprise sectors in front of all concerned parties inside and outside the area and to defend these interests in all related issues such as taxes, customs, etc.
2. Support and develop the local industry and help to equip its needs.
3. Promote and enhance the export of national products, build strong trade relations with foreign chambers, and issue the relevant certificates of origin.
4. Issue the commercial publications, periodicals, brochures and exchange.
5. Solve commercial disputes through arbitration.

LONG TERM OBJECTIVES OF THE CHAMBER

The Chamber is looking to:

1. Establish and develop an industrial town to encourage local and from abroad businessmen to invest in a suitable site. This will lead to a decrease in the present high ratio of unemployment and of the deficiency in the unbalanced trade balance in addition to a rise in the national income.
2. Side by side with the industrial town project the Chamber persist, in cooperation with the concerned institutions and organization, to establish a suitable site for conferences and trade fairs (local & international) to be a center for the promotion of local products and exchange of know how.
3. The Chamber is doing its at most to have an almost new base of information about the commercial and industrial activities in different towns to be a sound basis for studies, to help draw the developing polices and plans, and to be available for use by researchers and policy makers.
4. The Chamber continues its activities to build a large commercial compound on a suitable piece of land within the boundaries of the city which will house many lively utilities and new offices for the Chamber.
5. The Chamber continues to play its role in raising the skills of those dealing in both industrial and commercial sectors. This is being done through establishing an administrative and technical training center in cooperation with local and international institutions, in addition to arranging different training courses, seminars, and workshops.
6. The Chamber is looking to establish a special department of research at its offices to carry out studies and research and to collect data about the commercial and industrial sectors.
7. In addition to its activities to promote trade and industry, the Chamber works toward marketing Nablus city in commerce, industry, culture, science, tourism and services in and out Palestine.
8. The Chamber after finishing providing its offices with the necessary sets and net of computers and machines is aiming toward revising its staff by grafting them with the necessary skills. This actually requires a search for new financial resources.