Efforts to establish an American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt date back to the 1950s, when American and Egyptian business representatives initiated a dialogue with both the United States Council of the International Chamber of Commerce and the United States Chamber of Commerce. The idea remained dormant until the initiation of the “Open Door Policy” and the subsequent call for the formation of the Egypt-U.S. Business Council and the U.S.-Egypt Business Council, which were officially launched in 1979 at the U.S. Chamber’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., during a ceremony with then-Presidents Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat. As a first resolution, the Councils called for the establishment of an American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.

Finally, in 1981, substantive progress was made towards the formation of the Chamber under the organization of George DeBakey of Rockwell International, who recruited prominent Egyptian and American business leaders who shared his aspiration to establish an organization committed to promoting the bilateral economic relationship. In 1982, AmCham Egypt was officially founded as the 44th American Chamber of Commerce abroad and the first in the Middle East. On January 18, 1983, the Chamber elected its first Board of Governors. In October 1983, the first board meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt was convened.