European chamber celebrates 4th anniversary

Kevin Thompson

The Macau European Chamber of Commerce (MECC) marked its fourth anniversary yesterday at The St. Regis Macao, in a ceremony where its representatives vowed to continue promoting Europe-Macau exchanges.

MECC launched its permanent office last month to enable greater proximity and co-operation across national chambers in Macau, and welcomed the Italian Chamber of Commerce into the fold.

In January, the chamber published its first research paper jointly with the Institute of European Studies of Macau titled “Report on the role of the European Union in stimulating Macau’s development.”

The report provides supportive measures and strategies for enhancing economic cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Macau, based on feedback from local enterprises.

Additionally, a luncheon was hosted in March with the Macau Government Tourism Office, discussing the impact of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge on Macau’s tourism.

Kevin Thompson, president of the board of directors of MECC, recalled in his speech that Europe has shown the degree to which co-operation between societies is integral to how the global world operates.

“Today we celebrate seven European business associations and chambers, including a fully-fledged chamber of commerce which is new to Macau. Each chamber reflects its own distinctiveness,” said Thompson.

The president reiterated that MECC supports free, fair, and inclusive trade and market access through advocacy and negotiations with key policy makers and agreements with major economies around the globe.

“MECC represents not only businesses,” Thompson said, “but also the potential that specific Chamber of Chambers can play in vocational education – developing new skills for Macau’s changing business environment and social stability.”

Meanwhile, Thompson pledged that the chamber will continue to reinforce its leadership position representing European chambers and businesses in Macau.

It will do so by organizing high profile speakers and networking events which aim to have government and business representatives attending in a bid to stimulate collaboration in areas where European entities have much to offer Macau, while bringing together the Macau and European business communities.

Other specific activities on the agenda include a members-only visit to the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge on January 24 next year, and a reception to welcome a leading legal affairs academic from Cambridge University, who was unnamed.  LV