EU Ambassador to Laos Ms Ina Marčiulionytė addresses the newly-elected executive committee of ECCIL EuroCham.

ECCIL EuroCham’s Laos-Europe Business Networking event welcomes Austrian delegation

The European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Laos (ECCIL EuroCham) on March 29 held its annual General Assembly at the Settha Palace hotel in Vientiane to review activities undertaken in 2022 and discuss plans for this year.

ECCIL President Peter Fodge (left) and  ECCIL Executive Director Thiane Khamvongsa address the General Assembly.

The highlight of the gathering was a Laos-Europe Business Networking event, which was co-organised by ECCIL EuroCham, the European Union Delegation in Laos, and Advantage Austria, the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy in Thailand. 
During the ECCIL Annual Meeting (General Assembly), the activities and financial reports for 2022 as well as the plans for 2023 were presented to members. The new executive committee of the council for the term 2023-2025 was also elected.
“The year 2022 was quite challenging. Our journey to become a financially self-sustainable ECCIL went through several important changes, most of them to reduce operating expenses,” said Thiane Khamvongsa, Executive Director of EuroCham.
“But we succeeded in significantly improving the Chamber’s performance, improving revenues above expectations, and raising results by more than 30 percent compared to the previous year.”
She further added, “The challenges and issues of 2022 aren’t going away in 2023 but as optimism returns, the Chamber has great plans for 2023, namely re-invigorating the sectorial advocacy group in order to be pro-active while representing our Members’ interests vis-a-vis the Lao government, extending activities with a regional group in Luang Prabang, and implementing several exciting programmes such as the Responsible Business Awards, the Energy Efficiency Competition, a career fair, a Top Executive Meeting, and a mentoring programme for young women entrepreneurs with the EU in Laos.”
“We are also very excited to welcome the Austrian business delegation tonight, which is already the second of the year 2023 after the Hungarian business delegation in February, which is a clear sign of the renewal of foreign investors’ interest in Laos.”

Members elect the new executive committee of ECCIL EuroCham.

The General Assembly was followed by a Laos-Europe Business Networking event to celebrate the ties between the Lao and European Business communities and was opened by the EU Ambassador to Laos, Ms Ina Marčiulionytė.
The event also welcomed a business delegation from Austria, organised by Advantage Austria, the commercial section of the Embassy of Austria in Thailand.
The delegation was accompanied by the Austrian Ambassador, Mr Wilhelm Maximilian Donko, and consisted of businesses representing a wide range of sectors including hydropower, education, agriculture, consulting, railways, digitalisation, and defence.
During the trade mission, the delegation met with several ministries and officials from the Lao government, the EU Delegation in Laos, and Lao companies, seeking future opportunities and further possible trade relations between the two countries.
“In our first Trade Mission to Laos for four years we rediscovered that Laos is a hidden gem in Southeast Asia. We had great interest from visiting companies in various sectors, especially in hydropower development. Austria has by its own nature and history a great expertise in this field and our companies are looking to increase their presence in Laos to further develop the battery of Southeast Asia,” said Dr Georg Weingartner, the Austrian Commercial Counsellor.
For more information:
European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Laos.
Email: contact@eccil.org

By Advertorial Desk
 (Latest Update April 7, 2023)