Arabian nights offer sweet dreams for small N.J. firms

However, as the Egyptian-born president of Newark-based Web marketing company, iMediaStreams, Gomaa said it will take commitment to develop this opportunity.

“It takes serious time to build relationships,” Gomaa said, adding that there are waves of trade that are now ready to thrive. His company matches Arabic blogs and other online sites with advertisers.

The state Economic Development Authority is making an effort to build on that potential, and invited several experts on the Middle East regional economy to a seminar at the Statehouse Annex, in Trenton.

The experts discussed opportunities for New Jersey companies to export to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt.

Kam Shah, U.S. Department of Commerce project manager for the Middle East and North Africa, said the countries’ needs are vast and range from construction supplies and architectural services to oil field equipment.

“Invest your time, invest your resources — if you have the right product, you will succeed,” Shah said, adding that trade conditions in the countries have improved greatly over the past five years.

Jim Crawford, president of Worldwide Glass Resources Inc., in Norma, Salem County, said he sees opportunities in both Turkey and Saudi Arabia for his company, which produces glass vials in New Jersey’s historical glassmaking region. With both biotechnology and pharmaceuticals growing in the Middle East, Crawford has been talking with federal and state officials about how to build trade.

“I think there’s good opportunities for us,” he said.

Ravi Gadiraju, executive director of Allentown-based marine engineering firm Geomardy, said the deep-water surveying his company does is in high demand across the Middle East.

Geomardy has done work on two projects in Bahrain and one in Qatar. Gadiraju is encouraged by the EDA’s efforts.

“It’s very good and basically it gives us an opportunity” to build contacts, Gadiraju said.

Caren Franzini, chief executive officer of the EDA, said trade presents major opportunities for New Jersey.

Franzini and EDA trade director Camille E. Sailer said small and midsized businesses — particularly those engaged in trade — are driving job growth.

EDA officials cited statistics that exports support 530,000 jobs in the state, and that New Jersey is the 10th-largest exporter among the states.

Turkey leads the state in the growth of imports, while the United Arab Emirates is third in export growth, according to the EDA.

Turkish commercial attaché Yavuz Ozutku told businesses at the Nov. 20 seminar that his country has attained the political and economic stability that allows trade to flourish.